As Gold Surges By $30 In Two Days, Dollar 3 Ticks Away From 2010 Lows
Zero Hedge
The good old old green 75% cotton/25% linen combination formerly known as the reserve currency continues shocking everybody with just how worthless it is, because even as the dollar jumped against the Yen, it plunged against the euro, and in the DXY basket the Euro weighting is about 4 times greater than the Yen. Meaning today the dollar will likely take out 2010 lows, and after that 2009, 2008 and so forth. Furthermore, the DXY has plunged in the past two days, just in time to completely neutralize any nominal increase in stocks values. In the meantime, that other hated metal, gold has risen by $30 in the past two days, reminding once again that until the Fed build an alchemist annex it will continue to be the only true store of wealth (and, yes, only true currency).
Today's DXY chart with the blue line showing the 2010 lows:
A two day chart, for those who enjoy pointing out the stock market "relief rally"
A longer-term chart showing what happens next:
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Gold Gains as Japan Crisis, Middle East Unrest Spur Demand
Bloomberg
Nicholas Larkin
Gold gained for a second day in New York as unrest in the Middle East and North Africa and Japan’s nuclear crisis boosted demand for a protection of wealth. Platinum and palladium touched three-month lows.
Helicopters and riot-control water cannons were enlisted in the battle to contain radioactive pollution spreading at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi power station that was damaged after last week’s earthquake and tsunami. Rebels said Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s warplanes bombed Benghazi airport as the United Nations Security Council prepares to debate action.
“The situation in the Middle East and North Africa is discouraging people to go short on gold and the situation is rather delicate in Japan,” said Bernard Sin, the head of currency and metal trading at MKS Finance SA, a bullion refiner in Geneva. “There’s no other alternative really to gold.”
Gold futures for April delivery rose $6.60, or 0.5 percent, to $1,402.70 an ounce at 8:04 a.m. on the Comex in New York. The metal for immediate delivery in London was 0.3 percent higher at $1,402.57.
Bullion rose to $1,403.50 an ounce in the morning “fixing” in London, used by some mining companies to sell output, from $1,402 at yesterday’s afternoon fixing.
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Gold Rises on Dollar, Oil Rally; Volume Weak
Reuters
Frank Tang
Gold rose on Thursday on a combination of rallying crude oil, a decline in the dollar and an inflow into a major exchange-traded fund, with volume muted amid caution over Japan's nuclear crisis.
A wave of cross-asset buying lifted gold. Global equity markets rebounded after three days of selling despite Japan, and oil rallied more than 3 percent on unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
"If more uncertainty does play out in the marketplace, we may finally see gold catch fire, and if the dollar continues to fall, I think gold will continue to find support," said Jeffrey Pritchard, analyst at futures broker Altavest.
Sentiment also improved after data showed U.S. consumer prices rose at their fastest pace in more than 1-1/2 years in February, even as most economists agreed inflation pressures remained generally contained.
Spot gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,403.32 an ounce by 2:08 p.m. EDT (1808 GMT).
U.S. gold futures for April settled up $8.1 at $1,404.2 an ounce. U.S. COMEX trade was about three times weaker than Wednesday's volume and one-third lower than its 30-day average, preliminary Reuters data showed.
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Gold Rises as Markets Stabilize but Focus on Japan
Reuters
Amanda Cooper and Jan Harvey
Gold rose on Wednesday as investors took advantage of the previous day's 2 percent price drop to buy the metal and as the extreme risk aversion that prompted a flight to liquidity on Tuesday eased.
Spot gold was last up 0.7 percent at $1,403.85 an ounce at 1435 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for April delivery rose 0.8 percent to $1,403.80.
Prices fell 2.3 percent on Tuesday in their biggest one-day drop since January. They have since steadied as markets await news from Japan, where experts are working to avert a meltdown at a nuclear power plant.
"Now that the dust has settled a little bit and that we've had particularly a recovery in energy and other commodities, that's given a tailwind to gold," said HSBC analyst James Steel.
"If the focus ceases to be entirely on Japan, and the Middle East again gets some headlines, then the geopolitical risk levels will come back in and support gold," he said.
Other traditional safe-haven assets also rallied, with the Swiss franc hitting a record high against the dollar and benchmark U.S. Treasury yields touching their lowest in three months after housing data highlighted the fragility of the U.S. economic recovery.
Unrest that swept the Middle East and North Africa earlier this year, a key factor pushing gold to a record $1,444.40 an ounce last week, continues to simmer.
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Gold Recovers $1400, “Support Strengthened” as Japan Crisis Worsens, E.European Bond Auctions Fail
GoldSeek
Adrian Ash
The price of gold rose in London trade on Wednesday to regain $1400 per ounce as a rally in Japanese shares failed to prevent further losses in global stock markets.
With 450,000 people now homeless in freezing conditions, technicians at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant were forced to abandon their work by a jump in radiation levels. 150 miles away, Russia joined France in moving to evacuate its embassy staff.
Developed-world government bonds rose, pushing long-term interest rates down to fresh 2011 lows, but debt auctions by Russia and Poland both failed to raise more than 50% of the money sought.
Silver prices tracked gold's recovery, briefly touching $34.80 per ounce – a new 31-year high when first reached two weeks ago.
"We saw very good buying below $1390 from the physical market" says Swiss refiner MKS's finance division in a note on Tuesday's 3.1% drop in the gold price.
"It would appear that investors consider yesterday's sell-off as overdone," agrees South Africa's Standard Bank.
Now "cautiously re-entering the precious metals market," this gold investing – "together with a weaker Dollar and some interest from the physical market, could see some upside for gold and silver."
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Gold Reaches $1,400 After Asian Equities Rebound
Proactive Investors
Sergei Balashov
Gold prices rallied today, reclaiming the US$1,400/oz level as traders ceased selling the yellow metal to cover up losses in other assets as stock markets in Asia recovered following a two day sell-off on the nuclear crisis in Japan.
Radiation around the Fukushima nuclear plant has again reached dangerous levels this morning, forcing the evacuation of rescue workers from the site.
International Atomic Energy Agency’s director general Yukia Amano criticised the Japanese government for failure to provide timely updates about the state of failing reactors at Fukushima, calling for stronger communication.
Gold last traded at US$1,403/oz.
Silver and platinum followed, surging to US$34.78/oz and US$1,703/oz respectively.
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Gold Rises on Signs Drop Yesterday to One-Month Low Was Overdone
Bloomberg
Pham-Duy Nguyen
Gold rose in New York amid speculation that yesterday’s decline to a one-month low was overdone.
The metal dropped 2.3 percent yesterday following a slump in equities and commodities. Japanese stocks rose today for the first time in five days as the nation attempts to prevent a nuclear disaster following last week’s deadly earthquake and tsunami.
“Some of the panic-selling that we saw yesterday is subsiding,” said Matt Zeman, a market strategist at Kingsview Financial in Chicago. “The commodity’s bull run is not over, and people are looking to buy gold on dips.”
Gold futures for April delivery rose $3.30, or 0.2 percent, to settle at $1,396.10 an ounce at 1:39 p.m. on the Comex in New York. Yesterday, the price touched $1,380.70, the lowest since Feb. 17. Gold reached a record $1,445.70 on March 7.
Silver futures for May delivery rose 33.5 cents, or 1 percent, to $34.472 an ounce on the Comex. Yesterday, the price fell as much as 6.3 percent to $33.565. The metal has almost doubled in the past year.
Palladium futures for June delivery climbed 15 cents to $705.05 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Platinum futures for April delivery fell $5.10, or 0.3 percent, to $1,700.50 an ounce on the Nymex.
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Gold Bullion Bouyed by Broad Risk Aversion
FX Street
Gold bullion extended Friday´s late recovery in overnight trading, climbing to a daily high in $1433.50/ounce before easing in the wake of the BoJ´s liquidity injection which helped to calm market jitters. However, the most active contract for April delivery has remained in range to those highs ever since, lingering around $1425.00/ounce in early trading over North America.
The disaster in Japan has added another layer of uncertainty to an already fragile market sentiment, in light of tensions in the Middle East and North Africa as well as re-emerging euro-zone debt concerns. Investors are now pulling back from risky positions and taking refuge in safe-havens like the yellow metal, nervous that recent events could stall the recovery in Japan and more broadly across the globe.
In Europe, EU officials made what is seen as partial progress in regards to strengthening a rescue package for indebted nations in the periphery, however doubts still remain ahead of a more crucial meeting in 2-weeks time. In particular, ministers agreed to increase lending capacity to a full 500 billion euro, yet poignantly rejected proposals to purchase bonds on secondary markets directly from investors.
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Gold Edges Up on Safe-Haven Bidding
MarketWatch
Claudia Assis
Gold futures settled modestly up on Monday, buoyed by fresh doubts about the global recovery in light of destruction in Japan and ongoing concerns about euro-zone sovereign debt and unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
Gold for April delivery /quotes/comstock/21e!f:gc\j11 (GCJ11 1,425, +3.10, +0.22%) added $3.10, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,424.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“The bottom line is, people look at gold as money” anytime unrest or natural disasters hit, said Michael K. Smith, president of T & K Futures and Options Inc. in Florida.
Given the European sovereign debt crisis, geopolitical instability in oil producing nations, and continuing concerns about the global economy, Japan’s quake “could not have come at a worse time both for the indebted Japanese economy and the global economy,” added analysts at GoldCore in a note to clients Monday.
The Japanese started their search-and-rescue operations over the weekend only to find out there was nothing much left to rescue after Friday’s quake.
Fears that the nuclear reactors, damaged by the quake, are at risk of a meltdown added to the country’s woes. Read about Japanese shares.
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Gold Up as Japan’s Nuclear Crisis Fuels Risk Aversion
Reuters
Frank Tang and Jan Harvey
Gold prices rose on Monday, as a nuclear crisis in Japan and heightened political unrest across the Arab world triggered safe-haven buying.
Platinum group metals fell more than 1 percent as demand
expectations took a hit after Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami, which forced plant closures and production outages in the country's powerful auto industry.
"Gold in the interim remains well bid due to all the uncertainty in the world, led by Japan's possible nuclear meltdown. The Middle East crisis still looms though it is no longer the lead story on the headlines," said Miguel Perez-Santalla, vice president of Heraeus Precious Metals Management.
Gold benefited from heightened uncertainty as Japan scrambled to avert a meltdown at a stricken nuclear plant on Monday after a hydrogen explosion at one reactor and exposure of fuel rods at another.
Political tensions flared across Middle East in North Africa after Saudi Arabia sent troops into Bahrain on Monday to help put down weeks of protests by the Shi'ite Muslim majority, and as fighting intensified between Muammar Gaddafi and Libyan rebels. Growing unrest was also reported in Yemen.
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