Thursday, March 22, 2007
Gold Cracks Resistance
The Associated Press reports on currencies. "The euro on Thursday gave up some of the gains it made against the U.S. dollar after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. The 13-nation euro bought US$1.3330 in late European trading, down from US$1.3381 in New York late Wednesday. The British pound slid to US$1.9643 from US$1.9687. The dollar rose to 118.15 Japanese yen from 117.47 yen."
AFX News Limited. "The yuan finished at a record high of 7.7266 to the dollar on the over-the-counter market, compared to yesterday's 7.7340. On the exchange-traded market, the yuan also finished at a record level of 7.7260 up from 7.7341 yesterday, a Shanghai-based trader with a domestic lender said."
From MarketWatch. "Gold and silver futures climbed Thursday to close at their highest levels in three weeks as rallying crude-oil prices and bullish sentiment tied to a Federal Reserve statement on interest rates helped gold mark a sixth-winning session in a row."
"The Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged at 5.25%. It reiterated that 'some inflation risks remain' but at the same time dropped a phrase from previous statements about the 'additional firming that may be needed.'
The change was interpreted by some as signaling that the Fed is moving closer to cutting interest rates later this year."
"Gold for April delivery rose $4.20 to close at $664.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange after a high of $667.30. It's at levels not seen since March 1, after rising $21.70, or 3.4%, over the course of six trading sessions. May silver closed up 16 cents at $13.48 an ounce, after peaking at $13.57 -- also the contract's strongest levels since March 1."
"'The prospect of lower interest rates in the U.S. does bode extremely well for gold,' said James Moore, metals analyst at TheBullionDesk.com."
"Oil rallied 'after some particularly bullish data points yesterday on supplies into the U.S. economy and the general market belief that sooner or later the dollar has to start weakening,' Neal Ryan, director of economic research at Blanchard & Co., said."
"Gold breached the technically important $661-an-ounce level and is now potentially in a good position to target $700, coinciding with energy prices headed toward their peak demand period, Moore said."
"And 'we add to this the next 30 days demand from India as the religious festivals add to the demand for gold alongside the next burst of marriage demand, where gold is traditionally given as a dowry to the marriage by the bride,' Julian Phillips, an analyst at GoldForecaster.com, said."
"But analyst Jon Nadler warns that he sees 'a noticeable stall in the action.' 'All in all, $660 remains comfortable and $675/$680 still presents a barrier,' he said. 'If anything really helped today it would have to be energy.'"
"Other metals prices followed gold higher. June palladium rose $5.75 to close at $357.75 an ounce and April platinum gained $11 to end at $1,241 an ounce."
AFX News Limited. "The yuan finished at a record high of 7.7266 to the dollar on the over-the-counter market, compared to yesterday's 7.7340. On the exchange-traded market, the yuan also finished at a record level of 7.7260 up from 7.7341 yesterday, a Shanghai-based trader with a domestic lender said."
From MarketWatch. "Gold and silver futures climbed Thursday to close at their highest levels in three weeks as rallying crude-oil prices and bullish sentiment tied to a Federal Reserve statement on interest rates helped gold mark a sixth-winning session in a row."
"The Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged at 5.25%. It reiterated that 'some inflation risks remain' but at the same time dropped a phrase from previous statements about the 'additional firming that may be needed.'
The change was interpreted by some as signaling that the Fed is moving closer to cutting interest rates later this year."
"Gold for April delivery rose $4.20 to close at $664.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange after a high of $667.30. It's at levels not seen since March 1, after rising $21.70, or 3.4%, over the course of six trading sessions. May silver closed up 16 cents at $13.48 an ounce, after peaking at $13.57 -- also the contract's strongest levels since March 1."
"'The prospect of lower interest rates in the U.S. does bode extremely well for gold,' said James Moore, metals analyst at TheBullionDesk.com."
"Oil rallied 'after some particularly bullish data points yesterday on supplies into the U.S. economy and the general market belief that sooner or later the dollar has to start weakening,' Neal Ryan, director of economic research at Blanchard & Co., said."
"Gold breached the technically important $661-an-ounce level and is now potentially in a good position to target $700, coinciding with energy prices headed toward their peak demand period, Moore said."
"And 'we add to this the next 30 days demand from India as the religious festivals add to the demand for gold alongside the next burst of marriage demand, where gold is traditionally given as a dowry to the marriage by the bride,' Julian Phillips, an analyst at GoldForecaster.com, said."
"But analyst Jon Nadler warns that he sees 'a noticeable stall in the action.' 'All in all, $660 remains comfortable and $675/$680 still presents a barrier,' he said. 'If anything really helped today it would have to be energy.'"
"Other metals prices followed gold higher. June palladium rose $5.75 to close at $357.75 an ounce and April platinum gained $11 to end at $1,241 an ounce."
# posted by Ben Jones @ 2:16 PM 
