GOLD FREE TRIAL

Gold futures traded steady near $1750 levels after Greece's official creditors, including the International Monetary Fund and European Union, agreed a deal to lower the country's debt burden.
Euro-zone finance ministers agreed a mix of measures that includes an extension of loan maturities, a cut to the interest rates Greece is paying on loans from its international partners and a debt buyback which combined should reduce Greece's debt to "substantially lower" than 110% in 2022.
Greece will receive the payments in four disbursements if formal approval is given by the Euro group by Dec. 13. ‘‘The IMF wanted to make sure the euro partners would take the necessary actions to bring Greece’s debt on a sustainable path,’’ Ms Lagarde told a press conference after 13 hours of talks in Brussels that paved the way for a writing down of some Greek debt. ‘‘I can say today that it has been achieved.’’
The euro zone said overnight it will be in a position to re-start the paying out of 43.7 billion euros ($54.6 billion) in loans to Greece from December 13.
December gold futures on COMEX are trading up 7 cents at $ 1750.3 an ounce in Asia electronic trades today. Yesterday, it fell $1.8 (0.1%) to settle at $1,749.6 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
MCX December gold futures may open today’s session near Rs 32350 levels with resistance near Rs 32400 and Rs 32450 levels. Yesterday, it ended higher by Rs 111 at Rs 32,359 per ten grams.

GOLD FREE TRIAL

Bullion metals ended lower at Comex on Tuesday, 27 November 2012. Gold prices ended lower for second straight day as the dollar headed up and a sort of debt deal was reached at Greece. Upbeat US data also took some shine away.

Gold for December delivery fell $7.3 (0.4%) to settle at $1,742.3 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, December silver fell 16 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $33.98 an ounce.

In overnight trading, the European stock markets rallied only modestly on news that Euro zone leaders meeting in Brussels agreed late Monday to disburse fresh bailout funds to cash-starved Greece. Most market watchers had reckoned EU leaders would grant new monies to Greece. The world market place showed no significant reaction to the as-expected news on Greece.

A meeting to discuss Greece's finances wrapped up early Tuesday with Greece's institutional lenders reaching a deal to pave the way for Athens to receive almost 44 billion euros (almost $57 billion) of financial aid, while bringing its debt down to a sustainable level. The deal is expected to trigger another aid payment for the debt-struck country.

A heavy slate of U.S. economic data released Tuesday did show generally better-than-expected readings overall, and that put modest upside pressure on the U.S. dollar index, which in turn helped push gold and silver prices to their daily lows.

The dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, rose by 0.2% on Tuesday. The Euro currency also was initially supported on the Greece news but could not hold those gains as the day wore on.

In today's economic news at Wall Street, Consumer confidence rose in November to its best reading in more than four years. The latest consumer confidence reading for November came in at 73.7, while market expected a reading of 73.0. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 73.7 in November from 73.1 in October. That's above the 72.2 level forecast. The October reading was upwardly revised from 72.2.

Separately, the September Housing Price Index from the FHFA increased by 1.1%, which follows a 0.7% increase observed during the prior month. Also, the September Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index rose by 3.0%, while a 3.1% increase had been expected. This followed the previous month's increase of 2.0%.

Durable goods orders were unchanged in October, which was better than the 0.4% decrease that had been expected. Excluding transportation related items, durable goods orders increased in October by 1.5%, which was better than the 0.4% decrease that had been broadly anticipated. Prior month's reading was revised down to reflect an increase of 1.7%.

Traders and investors are also focused on the negotiations among U.S. lawmakers and President Obama regarding the so-called “fiscal cliff” tax increases and spending cuts that are approaching.

At the MCX, gold prices for February delivery closed lower by Rs 149 (0.45%) at Rs 32,594 per ten grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 32,825 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 32,550 per 10 grams during the day's trading.

At the MCX, silver prices for December delivery closed lower by Rs 198 (0.31%) at Rs 63,536/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 63,877/kg and fell to a low of Rs 63,361/Kg during the day's trading.

GOLD FREE TRIAL

Bullion metals ended higher at Comex on Wednesday, 21 November 2012. Prices ended the U.S. day session firmer and near the daily high on Wednesday, in subdued, pre-holiday trading ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. Report of higher gold holdings by emerging-market central banks helped them recoup a portion of the previous session's losses. Several U.S. economic reports released Wednesday had little impact on the precious metals markets.
Gold for December delivery rose $4.6 (0.3%) to settle at $1,728.2 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday. Prices traded between $1,718.5 and $1,732 during the day.
On Wednesday, December silver rose 42 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $33.35 an ounce.
As per latest reports, gold purchases by central banks were high on investors' minds, after the International Monetary Fund's monthly statistics reportedly showed central banks in emerging countries increased their holdings in October. Brazil alone raised its gold stocks by 17.170 metric tons.
The gold and silver markets showed little reaction to news reports at midday on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire. Traders and investors continue to keep one eye on the situation between Israel and Hamas, as any ceasefire could prove fleeting. Any further escalation in Hamas-Israeli violence could drive oil prices higher and see fresh flight-to-safety buying of gold.
In overnight news, the Tuesday meeting of Euro zone officials in Brussels, on when to disburse the next tranche of bailout money to Greece, failed to reach agreement. The group will meet next Monday, reports said. It was widely expected there would be an agreement reached Tuesday and Greece would get fresh bailout money.
The dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, fell a bit lower at the end of the day.
In today's economic data, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index pointed to a 2.2% decrease in mortgage applications during the past week. Today's reading followed prior week's increase of 12.6%.
The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 410,000, which was lower than the 423,000 that had been expected by the consensus. The tally was below the revised prior week count of 451,000. As for continuing claims, they fell to 3.337 million from 3.367 million.
The University of Michigan final Consumer Sentiment Survey for November fell to 82.7 from the 84.9 that was posted in the preliminary Survey. The consensus expected the reading to slip to 84.5. Lastly, leading indicators for October increased by 0.2%, which was in-line with the forecast. Today's reading followed prior month's increase of 0.6%.
At the MCX, gold prices for December delivery closed higher by Rs 69 (0.21%) at Rs 31,813 per ten grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 31,840 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 31,705 per 10 grams during the day's trading.
At the MCX, silver prices for December delivery closed higher by Rs 511 (0.83%) at Rs 62,047/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 61,602/kg and rose to a high of Rs 62,160/Kg during the day's trading.
Comex floor trading will stay closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving and hold an abbreviated session on Friday.