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Gold’s London AM fix this morning was USD
1,632.00, EUR 1,240.97, and GBP 1,014.42 per ounce. Friday's AM fix was USD
1,640.00, EUR 1,246.30 and GBP 1,018.25 per ounce.
Silver is trading at $31.29/oz,
€23.80/oz and £19.43/oz. Platinum is
trading at $1,564.50/oz, palladium at $664/oz and rhodium at $1,350/oz.
Gold gained $1.20 or 0.07% in New York and closed at
$1,642.00/oz on Friday. Gold initially traded
sideways in Asia and then took a dip downward to $1,631.37. A slight bounce
now shows gold near $1,632.69 in European trading.
Gold fell 1% last week and a stronger dollar has
weakened the demand for gold as an alternative investment. The dollar gained
strength against the euro as France’s Presidential elections have seen
Sarkozy with only 27.1% of the vote behind Hollande’s
28.6% and Le Pen’s surprise 18.1%. Many people see the election as
another disruption into a solution to the euro zone crisis. There is also the
fear of a dangerous break of the Franco-German alliance if Sarkozy is ousted
by a socialist.
The IMF meeting ended yesterday and leading world
economies agreed to more than double the lending power of the IMF in an
effort to protect the global economy from the euro zone contagion. This was
still short of Lagarde’s $600 billion goal.
The Netherlands was drawn into the spotlight over the
weekend when the government failed to agree on budget cuts, making elections
nearly unavoidable and casting doubt on its support from future euro zone
aid.
Investors will watch the China HSBC manufacturing
survey at 1430 GMT as a measure of the conditions of the world’s 2nd
largest economy. The Federal Reserve meets on Tuesday and Wednesday, and its
statement on monetary policy is given on April 25th. The Bank of Japan meets
on Friday and is expected to ease again.
Trading is sluggish as the market waits for clues.
For breaking news and commentary on financial markets
and gold, follow us on Twitter.
NEWS
Gold May Drop as Dollar Strengthens Before Data, Fed
Statement – Business Week
Gold hovers around $1,640/oz;
eyes on Fed meeting - Reuters
Italian Police Seize $5 billion of U.S. Securities
- Reuters
Sarkozy, Hollande to
Square Off as Le Pen Has Record Vote - Bloomberg
COMMENTARY
Get Physical Gold & Silver
– Zero Hedge
The Best Reason in the World to Buy Gold
- Forbes
James Rickards on Central
Banks Obsession with Gold and Why more QE is Imminent! –
Future Money Trends
Auguries — Doors of perception
– Financial Post
Mark
O’Byrne
Goldcore
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