Bullion & Business Weekend Report; March 27, 2010

Precious metals ended lower this week but losses were pared as prices rallied Friday following news of a Greece rescue plan which lifted the euro, pulling down the US dollar. Gold was helped further on worries over a South Korean naval vessel that sank near a disputed sea border with North Korea.

The euro’s gain against the greenback failed to lift oil prices, as concerns over demand took precedence in investors’ minds, according to reports.

In stocks, major US and European indexes finished with weekly gains, although they were mixed on Friday. The Greek bailout news and Korean accident were cited factors.

In New York metals weekly prices, April gold retreated $3.30, or 0.3 percent, to end at $1,104.30 an ounce. Silver for May delivery closed to $16.906 an ounce, falling 13 cents, or 0.7 percent. April platinum ended down $12.60, or 0.8 percent to $1,596.00 an ounce.

The Greek plan "will no doubt give risk sentiment a short- term boost and is partially behind the gains with gold," James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, said in a report that was cited on Bloomberg. Concern that government debt may expand "will continue to prompt diversification away from fiat currencies and toward more tangible assets, particularly precious metals."

"An increase in ETF holdings showed gold still attracted investors as currencies remained volatile," said Richcomm Global Services in a note cited on Reuters.

In weekly London bullion prices, gold was fixed to $1,096.50 an ounce, falling $9.00, or 0.8 percent. Silver fell 46 cents, or 2.7 percent to $16.85 an ounce. Platinum settled at $1,596.00 an ounce, losing $21.00, or 1.3 percent.

"We hadn’t seen this kind of [gold] demand since Chinese New Year," Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS Finance in Geneva, said on MarketWatch in noting increased demand from jewelers and traders in India and the Far East.

"Against this mildly positive (for the euro) background" of the Greece news, "the US dollar lost" and the "euro ‘rallied’" which helped commodities to include gold, writes Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, Inc.

To follow are silver, gold and platinum performance charts, oil news, week-ending stocks, and precious metal article summaries.

London Fix Charts: Silver, Gold and Platinum

(March 19 – 26)

The London Fix is one of the most used bullion quotes around the world. The London AM fix for gold and platinum begins at 10:30am GMT (5:30am in New York), and the PM fix begins at 3pm GMT (10am in New York). The London Fix for silver begins each business day at 12pm GMT (7am in New York).

London Fix Precious Metals Prices

World Business Weekly News: Oil, Gasoline, and Stocks Prices

Crude oil prices fell on Friday "as concerns about energy demand superseded earlier gains from an advance in the euro against the dollar," wrote Polya Lesova and Claudia Assis, of MarketWatch.

"The euro-zone is having their issues with Greece, Portugal and Spain," Mike Sander, an investment adviser at Sander Capital Advisors in Seattle, said on Bloomberg. "OPEC still has a few million barrels of oil they can add into the market if they wish to, so fundamentally, we are not at peak supply."

New York crude-oil for May delivery declined 53 cents, or 0.7 percent, to close at $80.00 a barrel. The price is 1.2 percent lower than last week.

Prices at the pump fell a half penny between Friday and Saturday. The national average for regular unleaded gasoline is $2.806 a gallon, according to a AAA fuel report. The price is 1.2 cents lower than last week, 11.3 cents higher than a month back, and 78.0 cents above that of a year ago.

U.S. stocks were mixed on Friday, "ending another up week, as investors considered the Greek bailout package, reports of a naval conflict between North and South Korea and a weaker U.S. dollar," wrote Alexandra Twin CNNMoney.com.

"This is really all about that variable we call the geopolitical; it’s about Korea," Peter Kenny, a managing director in institutional sales at Knight Equity Markets LP in Jersey City, New Jersey, said on Bloomberg. "It’s taken some of the euphoria out of the market."

"You’re seeing a lot of turbulence," Dick Del Bello, senior partner at Conifer Group, said on MarketWatch. "There’s not a lot of bad news and a few good things out there that people are hanging their hats on."

For the week, the Dow gained 1.01 percent, the S&P climbed 0.58 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 0.87 percent.

Friday closing figures for the three major US indexes follow:

• The Dow gained 9.15 points to close at 10,850.36.

• The S&P advanced 0.86 points to finish at 1,166.59.

• The NASDAQ declined 2.28 point to end at 2,395.13.

And in other world markets:

• The German DAX fell 12.90 points to close at 6,120.05.

• The Paris CAC 40 declined 11.55 points to close at 3,988.93.

• The London FTSE 100 retreated 24.63 points to finish at 5,703.02.

For the week, the DAX surged 2.30 percent, the CAC 40 rose 1.62 percent and the FTSE 100 climbed 0.94 percent.

Bullion and Business Articles

In related bullion, business and United States Mint news, interesting or quick-read articles from the week include:

• Pero…WHAT? – Jon Nadler, Kitco Metals Inc.
  Well, after weeks of wrangling and a near-derailment at the very last minute, we have an agreement on Greece…kinda/sorta. Last night’s cobbling together of a rescue package for Greece by the EU not ameliorates its short-term financial position but has resulted in the lifting of at least some the immediate selling pressures being felt by the euro. The long-awaited assistance "package" contains a mix of loans from certain EU nations as well as assistance by the IMF. Makes one wonder; what took so long?  

  However, experts opine that it is totally premature to conclude that the Greek and/or Eurozone turmoil is now fully over. Nothing in the package implies that Greece is going to get off easy in attempting to solve its financing woes. The loans contained in the plan are priced at current (rather high) interest rates…

• US Mint Sales: Abigail; First Spouse Gold Coins Shine Brightest
  Abigail Fillmore First Spouse Gold Coins have been added to the latest United States Mint sales report. Their numbers — along with other gold pieces in the first lady series — shined the brightest compared to other numismatic products which were mostly sluggish.

  Abigail Fillmore $10s reached 2,881 between their launch on Thursday and through Sunday. Their three-day tally was higher than opening sales from the prior four First Spouse coin launches. Figures came in 1,824 for the proof version and 1,057 for the uncirculated option.

  The 24 karat coins as a group enjoyed better week-over-week sales — even after taking out the new Abigail numbers and despite the Anna Harrison’s going off sale with zero additions for the week. With these exclusions applied, 174 were purchased last week compared to 127 from the prior one.