Stock Market Watch

Gold Prices Rise for a Second Straight Day

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Gold prices rose for a second straight day today driven by strong physical demand. Gold prices were also pushed higher by a weaker U.S. dollar.

Gold, which is seen as a safe haven asset, once again tracked equities, which were pushed higher by strong consumer confidence data in the U.S. and hopes that European policymakers will implement fresh measures to stem the euro zone debt crisis.


Although there is more urgency from euro zone leaders to stem the region’s debt crisis, finance ministers of euro zone countries today struggled to boost the European Financial Stability Facility and turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for more help. Meanwhile, borrowing costs on Italy’s debt rose to a new euro-era high.

Ron Lawson, Partner of Commodities Investment Firm LOGIC Advisors, told CNBC today that it is all the macroeconomic events that are driving every single market including gold, not market fundamentals. Lawson further said that the fundamental reasons for owning gold are as good today as they were when gold was trading $300 to $400 lower.

Spot gold prices, which rose nearly 2% on Monday, gained 0.2% to $1,714.68 an ounce in trading today. Earlier, spot gold prices fell to almost $1,703 an ounce.

Gold for delivery in December gained $2.60 to settle at $1,713.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold prices rose in tandem with other commodities as investors’ sentiment was lifted by better than expected consumer confidence data. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index rose to 56 in the month of November after falling to a two and a half year low last month. Economists were expecting the index to rise to 44.

The better than expected consumer confidence data overshadowed weak housing market data. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 U.S. cities fell 0.6% in the month of September.

The consumer confidence data released today and the strong Thanksgiving sales over the weekend are a positive sign for the U.S. economy even as concerns about the country’s deficit-reduction plan remain. Late Monday, ratings agency Fitch lowered its outlook on U.S. credit rating to negative citing the failure to reach an agreement on deficit-reduction last week. However, this did not have any impact on investors’ confidence.

Meanwhile, the focus remained on the debt crisis in the euro zone. Earlier in the day, Italy once again paid very high yields at a bond auction.

Although there is rising hope among investors of more action from euro zone leaders to stem the debt crisis, any delay in implementing fresh measures could once weigh down sentiment.

Gold prices, which have risen on the first two days of this week, could once again come under pressure if fresh worries about the euro zone debt crisis once again hit the market.

Meanwhile, gold ETFs also finished higher today, although the gains were only marginal. The SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSE: GLD) ended the day 0.15% higher at $166.88, while the Market Vectors ETF Trust (NYSE: GDX) ended the day 0.46% higher at $56.46. The iShares Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSE: IAU) ended the day 0.12% higher at $16.73.

Gold holdings in ETFs reached a new record high last week, rising over 2.2 million ounces in only a month to nearly 70 million ounces. This is almost equal to total mine supply this year.

Silver prices, which also rose sharply on Monday, pared some of their gains in trading today. At last check, spot silver was down 0.5% to $31.91 an ounce.

Silver ETFs also fell in trading today, with the iShares Silver Trust (ETF) (NYSE: SLV) ending 0.77% lower at $31.03 and the ProShares Ultra Silver (ETF) (NYSE: AGQ) ending the day 1.36% lower at $57.23. The ProShares UltraShort Silver (ETF) (NYSE: ZSL), which takes a short position on silver, ended 1.33% higher at $12.98.

Platinum prices fell 0.5% to $1,531.24 an ounce, while palladium prices rose 1.9% to $583.97 an ounce today.

 

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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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