Gold retreated Tuesday from a five-week high as the U.S. dollar firmed and comments from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke cooled inflation worries. The yellow metal’s declined was softened by rising oil prices. Platinum and silver fell harder. U.S. stocks posted modest gains.
In New York trading futures for bullion:
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Silver for September delivery fell 14.7 cents, or 1.1 percent, to 13.478 an ounce.
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Gold for August delivery slipped $1.90, or 0.2 percent, to $946.90 an ounce.
- October platinum declined $11.90, or 1.0 percent, to $1,177.00 an ounce.
Notable precious metal quotes on the day follow:
"Participants were indicating a reluctance to let go of profitable positions, but at the same time not many exhibited the purchase enthusiasm that was seen in previous sessions," wrote Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Inc.
"The rising oil price and the softening U.S. dollar were the major underlying factors for the latest gains in the gold price," Barbara Lambrecht, an analyst at Commerzbank, was quoted on MarketWatch.
"The most noticeable change for gold has been the stronger correlation with the dollar," Standard Chartered analyst Daniel Smith was quoted on Reuters. "We went through a stage when the correlation was negative and now it’s pretty strongly positive."
In London bullion, the benchmark gold price was fixed earlier in the day to $947.75 an ounce for a decline of $5.00. Silver fell 22 cents to $13.52 an ounce. Platinum remained unchanged at $1,181.00.
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 climbed for day five on Tuesday "as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony to Congress raised hopes for an economic recovery," writes Moming Zhou and Polya Lesova of MarketWatch.
New York crude-oil for August delivery gained 74 cents, or 1.2 percent, to close at $64.72 a barrel.
The national average for unleaded gasoline fell seven-tenths of a cent to $2.458 a gallon, according to AAA. The price is 5.9 cents cheaper than last week, 23.5 cents less than a month back, and $1.61 lower than a year ago.
U.S. Stocks
U.S. stocks posted modest gains Tuesday "after a volatile session in which investors weighed better-than-expected corporate earnings with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s warning that the economic recovery would be slow," wrote Catherine Clifford from CNNMoney.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 67.79 points, or 0.77 percent, to 8,915.94. The S&P 500 Index climbed 3.45 points, or 0.36 percent, to 954.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 6.91 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,916.20.
Check out additional market resources at Live Bullion Spots, the Silver Calculator, U.S. Mint Collector Bullion Price Guide, and the Inflation Calculator.
