Precious Metals Little Changed
Dec 1st, 2008 | By Doug Casey | Category: Financial NewsGold edged lower in the overseas markets on Friday, dipping just below $810 at the New York open, then traded between there and $820 through the day, finishing at $816.30, down $3.10 from Tuesday. For the week, gold tacked on 1.8%.
Platinum was stuck at $850 until late European trading, but then took off and soared through the first hour in New York, reaching $878 before easing from there through the Globex to end at $868, up $5. For the week, platinum gained 6%.
Silver declined from Hong Kong to the mid-point of London trading, falling below $10.10, moved sharply higher to mid-morning, dropped off until the noon hour, then rose one last time, peaking at $10.30 before easing through the Globex to close at $10.26/oz., down 4 cents. For the week, silver added 6.4%. (Click here for charts)
There was not much to report on after thin post-holiday trading yesterday, with all the precious metals winding up little changed. Whatever boost gold might have gotten from rising oil prices was dampened by a sharply higher dollar.
Still, the yellow metal finished November with its biggest monthly gain in nine years, adding more than 11%.
“Gold is digesting its recent sharp gains,” said Peter Grandich, chief commentator at Agoracom, but he predicted rising prices in December.
Currency fluctuations may continue to govern the market, as a weakening dollar “pushed gold up, and its strength is weighing on gold today,” said Mark O’Byrne, executive director at Gold & Silver Investments. But his attention was caught by open interest numbers.
Comex gold futures open interest—the number of outstanding contracts—declined sharply this month, falling to 289,700 contracts in the week ended November 18, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. That’s down 9.3% from a month ago.
What the low open interest means is “that nearly all the speculative froth has been liquidated and remaining longs are ‘strong hands’,” O’Byrne says. “This will encourage more long interest to enter the market and should contribute to markedly higher prices in the coming weeks.”
Source: Precious Metals Little Changed
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