US gold futures ended nearly 4 percent lower Friday as bullion's safe-haven appeal decreased and as global stocks soared after the US government unveiled measures to tackle the financial crisis. December gold settled down $32.30, or 3.6 percent, at $864.70 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
GOLD: December traded in a wide range from $888 to $828.50. Gold slid as its safe-haven appeal decreased after the US government announced plans to boost financial markets. The US government pledged $50 billion to guarantee money-market mutual funds, curbed short-selling and crafted a sweeping plan to mop up toxic mortgage debt, sending global stock markets soaring.
While the bailout plan should be highly inflationary, it will take time for gold traders to sift through the potential implications of the US government actions - Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management. On Thursday, December gained 5.5 percent, after trading as high as $926 an ounce as investors sought a safe haven in bullion amid volatile markets.
Gold often rises in times of financial crisis and heightened geopolitical tensions because the metal's intrinsic value is not tied to fiat money. Bullion hit hard as investors switched funds back to rebounding equity markets as US stocks rose more than 3 percent, and shares in Europe and Asia also gained sharply.
Gold's volatility reflects the mood felt across the financial markets, and choppiness should continue as investors flock to safe-haven assets - James Moore, analyst at TheBullionDesk.com. COMEX estimated 1 pm EDT (1700 GMT) volume at 163,139 lots, and options turnover at 14,638 lots. Spot gold quoted at $862.20/866.20 an ounce at 2:25 pm, up 1.8 percent from gold's nominal Thursday close of $847.25. The afternoon fix in London was set at $869.00 an ounce.
SILVER: December ended down 22.5 cents, or 1.8 percent, at $12.475 an ounce, as silver followed gold's retreat. Silver surged to a high of $12.700. Its low was $11.810 an ounce. Estimated COMEX 1 pm volume at 25,036 lots. Spot silver at $12.38/12.43 an ounce, up 4.1 percent from Thursday's nominal close of $11.84 an ounce. The London silver fix at $12.15 an ounce.
PLATINUM: NYMEX October platinum finished up $9.40 at $1,147.00 an ounce on pent-up demand after sharp decline of the platinum group metals. Spot platinum was at $1,126.00/1,166.00.
PALLADIUM: December palladium closed down $2.50, or 1 percent, at $236.95 an ounce. Spot palladium at $231.50/241.50 an ounce.
Comments
Comments are closed.