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Gold Prices Ease

March 12, 2012 by · Comments Off on Gold Prices Ease 

Gold Prices Ease, U.S. gold and copper
futures fell Monday, taking the lead from a drop in crude oil
prices, as markets now focus on the Federal Reserve’s policy
statement later this week.

FUNDAMENTALS
* U.S. gold futures slid nearly 1 percent under pressure
from dwindling expectations for the Federal Reserve to signal
the need for more measures to keep U.S. rates low.
* Longer-term gold exchange-traded fund investors took their
bullion holdings to a fresh record, Reuters data showed.
* Copper futures eased due to concern about over-supply and
demand in commodity-consuming giant China.

ECONOMY
* China posted a $31.5 billion trade deficit in February,
flipping a $27.3 billion January surplus on a 39.6 percent
expansion in imports and an 18.4 percent export rise.

MARKETS
* Improving U.S. economic data kept the dollar flat, while
shares and commodities gave up gains on fretting about Asia
slowing and Europe’s debts and scant growth.
* Oil prices snapped four days of gains on worries over
Middle East supplies and the health of the global economy and
fuel demand.

Prices at 8:50 a.m. EST (1250 GMT)

LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
US gold 1696.70 -14.90 -0.9% 8.3%
US silver 33.715 -0.497 -1.4% 20.8%
US platinum 1679.80 -5.10 -0.3% 20.0%
US palladium 704.65 -5.30 -0.8% 7.4%
US copper 382.00 -4.05 -1.0% 11.2%

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