Commodities » Precious Metals

Gold and silver daily review (March 12, 2010)

Contributed by Nirmal Bang

By Nirmal Bang

MARKET ROUNDUP

Gold prices ended flat on Thursday as possible monetary tightening by China and lingering currency volatility kept bullion investors on the sidelines. While, Silver prices edged higher on the back of some risk-appetite in the markets.

IN FOCUS

- The world's largest gold-backed exchangetraded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings stood at 1,115.511 tonnes as of March 11, unchanged from the previous business day.

- The world's largest silver-backed exchange tradedfund, the iShares Silver Trust, said itsholdings fell 48.2 tonnes from the previous business day to 9,308.58 tonnes as of March 11.

- South African gold output fell 18.2 percent in volume terms and total mineral production rose 7.7 percent in January compared with the same month in the previous year, official data showed on Thursday.

- Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves rose to $436.9 billion on March 5 from $434.1 billion a week earlier, central bank data showed on Thursday. Russia holds the world's third-largest reserves.

- Endomines completed several important steps to develop the business from exploration to full-scale gold production. By the end of 2010, the company will commence production at the Pampalo Gold Mine, with a projected output of 900-1 000 kg of gold per annum.

- Initial jobless claims fell 6,000 to 462,000 in the week ended March 6, 2010 after a revised 468,000 in the prior week. The Labor Department said no states estimated numbers, and that the seasonal adjustment factors were close.

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK

Precious metals prices held steday in early trade on COMEX. We see some strength in the dollar with some risk-aversion in the markets, thus precious metals prices could be seen under pressure. We recommend selling on rise.