http://www.usagold.com/cpmforum/By Garry White and Rowena Mason
19 Jul 2010 (Telegraph.co.uk) — The summer doldrums for metals prices is here – and we could see a couple of months of falls.
As is usual, gold bugs are likely to top up their holdings on the dips….
The platinum price has fallen by almost 15pc since it hit a 21-month high of $1,745 an ounce at the end of April. The metal now costs about $1,510 an ounce…. the price could fall by another $200 over the next couple of months, according to a study by Commerzbank.
However, weak metals prices are not guaranteed over the next few months, so investors looking out for a buying opportunity need to keep their eye on the market. There is a distinct possibility these expected price falls may not materialise.
A continually weakening dollar could provide stop the price slide in its tracks, as a falling US currency provides support for precious metals such as platinum.
The dollar fell to a nine-week low against the euro last week, as poor US manufacturing data sapped confidence form the world’s largest economy. Retail sales in the country also declines and corporate earnings from the likes of Google and JP Morgan disappointed Wall Street.
The market is starting to catch on that US public debt is surging to 100pc of GDP – and the focus of sovereign debt concerns is shifting.
“The Europeans have aired their dirty debt in public and taken some measures to address it, whilst the US has not,” David Bloom, currency chief at HSBC said last week.
A continuation of market worries about a double-dip recession in the US and its massive debt woes could lead to further falls in the world’s reserve currency — and cause analysts to rip up their bearish expectations for precious metals prices over the next few months.
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MAIN, RS
Gold prices fall ahead of key data
Jul 19th, 2010 13:10 by News
by Andrea Tse
July 19, 2010 (The Street) UPDATED — Gold prices have fallen Monday as investors continue to digest information from minutes of the Fed’s June 22 to 23 meeting, which were released on Wednesday, and suggested the possibility of deflationary pressures; and weaker housing numbers indicative of a slow economic recovery.
… The gold price Monday has traded as high as $1,194.70 and as a low as $1,176.90.
The National Association of Home Builders’ on Monday reported that the July housing market index came in at 14, falling 2 points from June’s downwardly revised figure of 16.
Meanwhile, the Fed’s minutes, published last week, has indicated that “several participants noted that a continuation of lower-than-expected inflation and high unemployment could eventually lead to a downward movement in inflation expectations that would reinforce disinflationary pressures.”
Gold prices are lower also as investors wait for results of stress tests of EU banks. This data is set to come out on Friday. They’ll also be focusing on key economic events such as Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony on monetary policy Wednesday in front of the Senate Banking Committee as well as the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday.
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