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Gold and Silver Prices Sharply Lower

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Gold and silver prices are sharply lower in mid-day trading as optimism over the Greek debt deal continues to fade.

On Thursday, Greek political leaders finally reached an agreement on further austerity measures and reforms, raising hopes that the debt-laden country will receive additional bailout funds and avert a messy default. However, finance ministers of the euro zone countries have questioned the Greek austerity deal. They are seeking further measures from Greece before approving next round of bailout funds.


At last check, spot gold was trading 0.68% lower at $1,719.30 an ounce. Gold futures for delivery in April on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange are currently trading 1.17% lower at $1,720.90 an ounce.

Pradeep Unni, Senior Analyst at Richcomm Global Services, told Reuters that gains in the U.S. dollar and consistent disappointment from the European Union regarding Greece debt deal are curbing any gains in gold. Unni said that even if the debt deal comes out, the complications are far from over. He added with an over 26% unemployment rate in Greece, austerity means further job cuts and tax increases.

Gold is down in trading today even though the CME Group on Thursday lowered trading margins for a range of commodities, including gold.

In a research note, Commerzbank today said that in August and September of last year, CME almost doubled the margin within just a few weeks, thereby contributing to the sharp fall in the price of gold.

Silver prices are also sharply lower in trading today. At last check, spot silver was trading 0.91% lower at $33.57 an ounce.

The iShares Silver Trust (ETF) (NYSE: SLV) is currently trading 0.82% lower at $32.62, the ProShares Ultra Silver (ETF) (NYSE: AGQ) is currently trading 1.23% lower at $60.41, and the ProShares UltraShort Silver (ETF) (NYSE: ZSL) is currently trading 1.88% higher at $10.29.

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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.


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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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