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Gold Prices Trade Near $1,300 an Ounce, Silver Prices Flat

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Gold prices dropped further and hovered near $1,300 an ounce level during Asian trading hours on Thursday as demand for safe-haven bets failed to pick up in spite of partial government shutdown. Silver prices, meanwhile, were flat in early trading on Thursday.

At last check, gold futures for December delivery fell 0.44% to $1,301.50 an ounce while spot gold edged down 0.31% to $1,302.51 an ounce.

The SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSE: GLD) fell 0.35% in premarket trading to $125.67.

Silver futures were mainly flat at $21.89 an ounce.

The widespread expectation that lawmakers will reach an eleventh-hour deal to resolve the debt-ceiling issue is weighing on the sentiment. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama began meetings with congressional leaders to resolve the U.S. budget crisis.

Adding to the woes were the minutes from the latest open market committee meeting (FOMC).

The Federal Reserve’s latest minutes, which were released on Wednesday, showed that most of the policymakers were in favor of pulling back the multi-billion dollar asset purchase program or quantitative easing.

Lackluster physical side demand in Asia is also building the pressure. Bullion investors are now worried about what could support level be if lawmakers do reach a budget-deal.

Speaking to Reuters, Yuichi Ikemizu, branch manager for Standard Bank in Tokyo said, “The fact that gold is not going up even with the shutdown is a bad sign. The mood in the market is bearish.”

“Even at this $1,300 level we don’t see much physical buying. It doesn’t look too good for gold,” added Ikemizu.

In some other previous metal markets, platinum prices gained sharply on Wednesday as strike in South African mines has once again raised supply-chain concerns.








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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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