Precious metals on Tuesday continued to rise for the week. Gold, silver and platinum marked slight gains despite a modest slip in oil prices and a U.S. dollar that showed some strength, albeit timid, against several world currencies. U.S. stocks inched higher as well.
In New York trading futures for bullion:
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Silver for September delivery rose 7 cents, or 0.5 percent, to 12.855 an ounce.
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Gold for August delivery gained 30 cents, or 0.03 percent, to $922.80 an ounce.
- October platinum increased by $17.80, or 1.6 percent, to $1,135.10 an ounce.
Notable precious metal quotes on the day follow:
"Gold is caught between bull- and bear-trending forces as it plays ping pong between $907 support and $932 resistance," Ralph Preston, a Heritage West Futures Inc. commodity analyst in San Diego, was quoted on Bloomberg. "My bias is for a break to the downside as further speculative unwinding of long positions continues to unfold over the coming weeks."
"Silver looks very weak, with a potential move back toward strong support at $12.00," VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov was quoted on Reuters.
In London bullion, the benchmark gold price was fixed earlier in the day to $924.75 an ounce, or $16.25 more than the prior day. Silver jumped 41 cents to $12.88 an ounce. Platinum was fixed $32.00 higher to $1,129.00.
Gold, considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty, tends to follow oil and move opposite to the U.S. dollar. A rising greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities, like bullion, more expensive for holders of other world currencies.
Oil and gasoline prices
Oil prices fell for the third straight session "as an OPEC monthly report and new U.S. retail sales data raised demand concerns," writes Polya Lesova and Polya Lesova of MarketWatch. New York crude-oil for August delivery fell 17 cents, or 0.3 percent, to close at $59.52 a barrel.
The national average for unleaded gasoline fell 1.2 cents to $2.517 a gallon, according to AAA. The price is 8.7 cents below last week, 14.6 down from a month back, and $1.59 lower than a year ago.
U.S. Stocks
U.S. stocks rose "after a choppy session in which investors welcomed Goldman Sachs’ better-than-expected results but showed caution ahead of all the quarterly reports due in the weeks ahead," writes Alexandra Twin of CNNMoney.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 27.81 points, or 0.33 percent, to 8,359.49. The S&P 500 Index rose 4.79 points, or 0.53 percent, to 905.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 6.52 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,799.73.
In other economic news of the day, the US Labor Department reported that producer prices surged 1.8% in June, and were pushed ahead by the month’s soaring energy costs. The wholesale prices within the report help to measure inflation pressures before they reach the consumer.
Check out additional market resources at Live Bullion Spots, the Silver Calculator, U.S. Mint Collector Bullion Price Guide, and the Inflation Calculator.
