Friday, April 27, 2007
Gold "Resumes Journey" AS US$ Falls
The Associated Press reports on currencies. "The euro climbed to an all-time high against the dollar Friday as weak U.S. growth figures reinforced fears of a widening economic disparity between Europe and the United States. The euro hit $1.3682, shooting past its previous high of $1.3667 from December 2004, after the U.S. Commerce Department reported that economic growth slowed to a 1.3 percent annual rate in the first quarter, its weakest performance in four years."
"The 13-nation currency then settled back to $1.3655 in late European trading, still up from its $1.3601 level in New York late Thursday."
"The euro also hit a record against the Japanese yen after inflation data from Germany, coupled with improved business and consumer sentiment, pushed it to 162.91 yen, up from the previous high of 162.53 yen on Thursday."
"Along with the rise in the British pound, which broke through $2 earlier this month for the first time in nearly 15 years, the stronger euro makes visits to much of Europe more expensive for travelers from elsewhere and makes shopping trips to the U.S. more appealing to Europeans."
"'Restaurants are too expensive and I find myself eating pizzas and paninis at grocery stores,' said Krysta Taylor, a 38-year-old transportation worker from Calgary, Canada. 'My next destinations will probably be less expensive countries, such as South East Asia and South America.'"
"On Friday, the British pound was trading at $2.0022, up from $1.9910 late Thursday. The dollar fell against the yen, dropping to 119.41 yen from 119.63 yen in New York."
From MarketWatch. "Gold futures closed almost $4 higher Friday, boosted by the euro's record high against the dollar after data showed that the U.S. economy posted its weakest expansion in four years in the first quarter. But the day's gain wasn't enough to recoup the week's losses. The price of the precious metal finished the week with a loss of 2% as traders weighed investment-demand expectations for gold in the wake of U.S. stocks' climb into record territory."
"Gold for June delivery gained $3.80 to close $681.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was down $14 from last Friday's closing level of $695.80."
"'For several years now, gold has gone through short, but sharp corrections on its march to new all-time highs,' said Peter Grandich, editor of the Grandich Letter. 'The surprise going forward is how fast it rebounds and hits $700.'"
"'A return to $682-$685 is indeed required in order to resume whatever journey we were on prior to this eventful week,' said Jon Nadler, an analyst at Kitco. 'Until then, more than a few participants will nervously ponder if this was 'it' or if there is more room to fill some chart points and redraw the lines.'"
"Other metals prices gained for the session along with gold, but July platinum gave back $10.60 to end at $1,293 an ounce, down 3.6% for the week. May silver rose 11.8 cents to finish at $13.443 an ounce, but it was down 3.7% from a week ago. June palladium tacked on $1.05 to close at $374.45 an ounce, up almost $14 for the week."
"The 13-nation currency then settled back to $1.3655 in late European trading, still up from its $1.3601 level in New York late Thursday."
"The euro also hit a record against the Japanese yen after inflation data from Germany, coupled with improved business and consumer sentiment, pushed it to 162.91 yen, up from the previous high of 162.53 yen on Thursday."
"Along with the rise in the British pound, which broke through $2 earlier this month for the first time in nearly 15 years, the stronger euro makes visits to much of Europe more expensive for travelers from elsewhere and makes shopping trips to the U.S. more appealing to Europeans."
"'Restaurants are too expensive and I find myself eating pizzas and paninis at grocery stores,' said Krysta Taylor, a 38-year-old transportation worker from Calgary, Canada. 'My next destinations will probably be less expensive countries, such as South East Asia and South America.'"
"On Friday, the British pound was trading at $2.0022, up from $1.9910 late Thursday. The dollar fell against the yen, dropping to 119.41 yen from 119.63 yen in New York."
From MarketWatch. "Gold futures closed almost $4 higher Friday, boosted by the euro's record high against the dollar after data showed that the U.S. economy posted its weakest expansion in four years in the first quarter. But the day's gain wasn't enough to recoup the week's losses. The price of the precious metal finished the week with a loss of 2% as traders weighed investment-demand expectations for gold in the wake of U.S. stocks' climb into record territory."
"Gold for June delivery gained $3.80 to close $681.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was down $14 from last Friday's closing level of $695.80."
"'For several years now, gold has gone through short, but sharp corrections on its march to new all-time highs,' said Peter Grandich, editor of the Grandich Letter. 'The surprise going forward is how fast it rebounds and hits $700.'"
"'A return to $682-$685 is indeed required in order to resume whatever journey we were on prior to this eventful week,' said Jon Nadler, an analyst at Kitco. 'Until then, more than a few participants will nervously ponder if this was 'it' or if there is more room to fill some chart points and redraw the lines.'"
"Other metals prices gained for the session along with gold, but July platinum gave back $10.60 to end at $1,293 an ounce, down 3.6% for the week. May silver rose 11.8 cents to finish at $13.443 an ounce, but it was down 3.7% from a week ago. June palladium tacked on $1.05 to close at $374.45 an ounce, up almost $14 for the week."
# posted by Ben Jones @ 2:51 PM 
