Gold edged down on Thursday as investors waited for more clues on the state of the global economy after prices rallied toward a record this week, but falling shares could spur another round of safe haven buying.
Russia's gold reserve holdings climbed to 703.1 tons in May, after adding another 22.5 tons between April and May, according to latest IMF data. Russia had purchased almost a hundred tons of gold in recent months. In April alone, world's largest country purchased 27.6 tons of gold.
Gold prices dropped below $1240 in Asian trade Thursday mainly on conflicting reports over global economic situation.
Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1239.84 an ounce at 12.00 noon Singapore time while U.S. gold futures for August delivery was at $1,241.7 on the Comex in New York.
Gold slipped lower in Europe on Wednesday, caught up in selling of stocks and other commodities after a report showed U.S. private sector employers added fewer jobs than expected in June.
The precious metal is still set to be the best-performing metal of the second quarter, however, as fears over the global growth outlook and the stability of the banking system fuel haven demand for the metal.
MF Global (MF.N) has closed its Asia fuel oil swaps broking desk following the departures of all its brokers for the product, the company said on Wednesday.
We can confirm that the fuel oil desk in Singapore is no longer a part of MF Global. We have no plans at this time to restart the desk, a company spokeswoman in New York told Reuters.
Global rice ending stocks for 2009-10 are expected to be 90.4 million tons against the early estimation due to the lower export by the major growers, said International Grain Council. However, the global rice production is projected to decline in 2009-10 owing to poor output in countries such as India, where worst drought impacted the production, IGC noted.
Oil rose by one percent on Wednesday to move back above $76 a barrel, but was still headed for its first quarterly drop since 2008 as stresses in financial markets weighed on expectations about the pace of recovery.
Gold steadied in Europe on Wednesday, giving up early gains, after relatively low demand at the European Central Bank's latest bank refinancing operations eased some concerns over euro zone bank finances.
Nepal is likely to extend daily quota of gold imports as country's marriage season extended up to second week of July.
Nepal's central bank, the Nepal Rastra Bank increased the quota of gold import for the commercial banks listed for gold trading in the local market.
Oil edged lower on Wednesday, heading for its first quarterly drop since 2008 as risk aversion over Europe's debt crisis offset the effect of rising demand in the United States and China, the world's top two consumers.
Gold gained on Wednesday after holdings in the world's largest bullion-backed ETF hit another record as investors sought safety from tumbling stock markets.
Gold prices advanced further in Asian trade Wednesday mainly on weak stocks amid rising concerns over Europe's credit crisis and weak US economy.
Good monsoon, high gold prices and global trends may help silver outperform the yellow metal in India.Indians love to possess silver in their homes and after gold silver is the most sought after metal in Indian households for jewellery. Since gold prices are touching Rs 19,000 per 10 gm, many rural families are now switching to silver.
World stocks, commodity prices and the euro tumbled on Tuesday as risk appetite ebbed over concerns about the repayment of 442 billion euros ($545.5 billion) to the European Central Bank.
Gold inched higher and U.S. Treasuries rose, pushing two-year note yields to the lowest on record, as jitters over the euro zone debt crisis supported safe-haven demand.
Historically, when India's retail gold markets remained fragmented and unorganized, price parity was a major concern. Distance between places played key role in price differentiation in yellow metal. But with electronic exchanges rapidly taking shape and number of participants in Gold trading seen rising, the price disparity within India started wearing away.
The National Inflation Association in its update of 'Gold and Silver Seller Reviews' launched in January has decided to award the 'NIA 2010 Best Bullion Award' to Gainesville Coins.
Soon, gold is all set to cross the Rs 19,000 per 10 gm mark in India with global trends showing a huge rise in the coming days following the financial uncertainty continuing in global economy.
Britain's top shares fell sharply on Tuesday as renewed fears over global growth and worries about Europe's debt problems hit risk appetite, sending commodity-linked assets and banks sharply lower.
Gold inched higher in Europe on Tuesday as persistent concerns over the euro zone debt crisis supported safe-haven demand for the metal, but the stronger dollar limited gains.
Oil prices fell 2 percent to below $77 per barrel on Tuesday as stock markets slumped and risk appetite dwindled on renewed worries over euro zone debt.
Gold held near $1,235 an ounce in Europe on Tuesday as persistent concerns over the euro zone debt crisis supported safe-haven demand for the metal, but the stronger dollar limited gains.
Oil fell as much as 1.7 percent to below $77 on Tuesday as forecasts indicated tropical storm Alex would skirt the main production region in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, limiting disruption there to a few precautionary shutdowns.
Gold prices gained momentum on bargain hunting in Asian trade Tuesday despite broad drops by all major commodities.
Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1239.69 an ounce at 12.00 noon Singapore time while U.S. gold futures for August delivery was at $1,241.7 an ounce.
BP said it had spent $300 million on its Gulf of Mexico oil spill response effort in the past three days, hitting the $100 million/day spend rate for the first time and bringing its total bill to $2.65 billion so far.
It was a long-held belief that cotunnite, the highest-known pressure phase of the mineral zirconia, was mechanically hard enough to be used for industrial abrasives, and therefore could possibly replace expensive diamond. It turns out, that is not the case.
Diamonds are the in-thing in India now. According to De Beers, demand for polished diamonds in India and China could reach the same level as in the US.
As international gold prices nearing $1300 per ounce, experts in the Indian bullion markets are of the opinion that the current gold-rush is nothing but a bubble that can burst anytime in absence of the physical gold demand, which has been shrinking in recent months owing to exorbitantly high prices.
Gold nosed at last week's record highs on Monday, buoyed by a dip in the dollar in Asian trading and worries about the global economy, although a lack of consumer demand could push prices lower in the near term.
India used to be a totally gold oriented jewellery market with over 90% people buying gold jewellery. Traditionally, Indian families go for gold.
But, now people want a different look when they pick up jewellery. So they go for platinum. Platinum looks different, looks cool and goes well with diamonds, that is the feeling most of Indians in the cities.
Gold firmed in early European trade on Monday, trading within striking distance of a record high achieved last week on the back of persistent worries about the strength of global economic recovery.
The momentum is still there, said Ole Hansen, senior manager at Saxo Bank. If we stay above $1,250 an ounce this morning and consolidate, it may want to try moving up to $1,270 an ounce,
