Gold Recovers as Euro Jitters Ease

by Andrew Burger | May 10, 2012 12:20 pm

Gold and silver were recovering Thursday morning amid a positive report on U.S. unemployment and easing concerns about Greece and the solvency of EU governments.

Spot gold was up 0.48%, bid at $1,597 per ounce as of 11:35 p.m. Spot gold traded above the $1,600 mark, reaching as high as $1,603.10 and as low as $1,590.80, according to Kitco market data[1]. The London afternoon reference price was set at $1,598.50, up $16.25 per ounce from Wednesday’s afternoon reference price.

Spot silver was showing a 0.31% gain, bid at $29.36 an ounce. The morning high as of time of writing was $29.58 and the low was $29.07. Thursday’s reference price was set at $29.25 an ounce, 48 cents above Wednesday’s price fix.

Seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to a one-month low[2] last week, dropping 1,000 to 367,000, the Labor Department reported, in line with market expectations. The less volatile four-week moving average decreased to 379,000 from 384,250 two weeks ago. Consumer confidence as measured by the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped last week to -40.4 — its lowest level since early February — with weaker job growth contributing to the decline.

European markets calmed somewhat, with the euro rebounding[3] from recently hitting a three-month low, the first time the euro has strengthened against the dollar in nine trading sessions. The EU providing emergency funds for Greece to cover impending bond redemptions.

Gold bullion prices held on to yesterday’s gains in London morning trading[4] Thursday, breaching the $1,590 level, BullionVault reported.

“Technically, many (precious metals) are now oversold,” Edward Meir of International FC Stone said, “noting that gold trading volume on the Globex futures platform was on both Tuesday and Wednesday 40% above the last month’s average.

Gold trusts were higher Thursday, but the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV[5]) continued its losing ways.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD[6]) was up around 0.25%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU[7]) had gained around 0.3%.
• The iShares Silver Trust was down about 0.1%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs were on the plus side.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX[8]) was showing gains of around 0.1%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ[9]) was up around 1.3%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL[10]) was up around 1.1%.

Gold mining shares were broadly higher, though Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM[11]) and Goldcorp (NYSE:GG[12]) were down on the morning.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines was down around 1.5%.
• Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX[13]) was up around 0.45%.
• Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO[14]) was up around 0.9%.
• Goldcorp was down more than 0.6%.
• Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC[15]) was up between 3.2% and 3.4%.
• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM[16]) was showing slight gains, up less than 0.1%.
• NovaGold Resources (AMEX:NG[17]) was up more than 2%.
• Yamana Gold (USA) (NYSE:AUY[18]) was up some 0.65%.

Silver mining shares were mixed.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE[19]) was up nearly 2.2%.
• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL[20]) was around 3.5% higher.
• Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS[21]) was showing gains of around 0.5% and more.
• Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW[22]) was down more than 1.5%.
• Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI[23]) was down more than 1%.

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/2012/05/gold-recovers-as-euro-jitters-ease/

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