Precious Metals Dip, XAU Falls 1.6%
Precious metals futures closed modestly lower on Monday amid profit-taking and a small rebound in the U.S. dollar.
COMEX gold futures for December delivery settled down by $8.70, or 0.5%, at $1,731.80 per ounce after trading in a narrow range for most of the day.
The COMEX December silver futures contract ended with a loss of $0.06, or 0.2%, at $33.63 per ounce.
As for gold and silver stocks, the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) fared worse than the metals. The XAU finished down by 1.6% at 176.47; however, today’s sell-off followed a 5.5% advance last week.
Within the sector, notable decliners included XAU components Eldorado Gold (EGO), Hecla Mining (HL), and Royal Gold (RGLD). EGO slid by 3.5% to $14.16, HL by 2.4% to $5.68, and RGLD by 2.4% to $88.28 per share.
While the metals began the week on a negative note, they remain substantially higher thus far in September. On a month-to-date basis, the price of gold and silver are now up by 2.3% and 5.8%, respectively.
Looking ahead, many investment strategists see gold remaining strong into year-end. Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Lewis wrote in a recent note to clients that “The combination of QE and dollar weakness has reignited the interest of the private sector. Central banks and the public sector have already been aggressive buyers of gold, so it doesn’t change our view. It makes us more relaxed about the view.”
In July, Lewis predicted that the price of gold would average $1,726 per ounce in 2012 and would climb to $2,000 early in 2013.
2012-09-10 19:43:18
Source: http://www.goldalert.com/2012/09/precious-metals-dip-xau-falls-1-6/
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