Gold, Silver Fall Awaiting Fed Beige Book

by Andrew Burger | April 11, 2012 12:09 pm

Gold and silver were lower Wednesday morning as Alcoa (NYSE:AA[1]) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings and European government bonds steadied and even recovered somewhat in price.

Spot gold was slightly lower, down 0.11% bid at $1,658.80 as of 10:45 a.m., having traded as high as $1664 and as low as $1655.30 an ounce, according to Kitco market data[2]. The London afternoon reference price was set at $1,658, $14 an ounce higher than Tuesday’s afternoon reference price.

Spot silver was showing a 0.53% loss, bid at $31.67, with an ask price of $31.77. The morning high as of time of writing was $31.95 and the low was $31.48. Wednesday’s reference price was set at $31.70 in the London a.m., 15 cents an ounce higher than Tuesday’s price fix.

Alcoa, the first DJIA member to post Q1 earnings results[3], lifted stock market spirits by announcing it had moved from net loss to net profit during 2012’s first quarter.

In Europe[4], Spanish and Italian government bond yields declined having risen sharply Monday and Tuesday. Germany’s Treasury sold less than the full allotment of new benchmark 10-year German bunds at auction, though the 4.11 billion euros’ worth that were sold were taken up at a record low 1.77% yield.

Markets will be Fed-watching later today as the first Federal Reserve Beige Book[5] of 2012 is due to be released.

Gold bullion prices hovered below $1,660 an ounce for most of London’s morning trading session Wednesday, 1.5% above last week’s close, BullionVault reported in its London Gold Market[6] report.

“If weak [economic] data continue, the Fed will have to intervene again to stimulate consumption,” commented Jeremy Friesen, Hong Kong-based commodity strategist at Société Générale. “The next couple of years will be really challenging for global growth, and central banks will be relied on as a crutch to get us through.”

Gold and silver trusts continued to move lower on U.S. stock exchanges Wednesday morning.

The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD[7]) was down around 0.05%.
The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU[8]) was down around 0.05%.
The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV[9]) was down around 0.65%.

Gold mining ETFs were flat to lower while the Global X Silver Miners ETF was higher.

The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX[10]) was showing losses of around 0.5%.
The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ[11]) was moving around the unchanged level.
The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL[12]) was around 1% higher.

Gold mining shares were showing losses, Eldorado Gold the exception.

Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM[13]) was showing losses of around 1.5%.
Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX[14]) was down around 0.5%.
Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO[15]) was up nearly 0.7%.
Goldcorp (NYSE:GG[16]) was showing losses of around 0.65%.
Kinross Gold Corp. USA (NYSE:KGC[17]) was down around 1.8%.
Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM[18]) was down more than 1.8%.
NovaGold Resources (NYSEAMEX:NG[19]) was down nearly 1.5%.
Yamana Gold (USA) (NYSE:AUY[20]) was down some 0.65%.

Silver mining shares were mixed.

Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE[21]) was showing gains of more than 0.5%.
Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL[22]) was down some 1.15%.
Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS[23]) was showing losses of around 0.15%.
Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW[24]) was down nearly 0.5%.
Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI[25]) was up some 0.35%.

As of this writing, Andrew Burger did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of BullionVault contributed to this report.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/04/gold-silver-fall-awaiting-fed-beige-book/

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