Morning Gold & Silver Market Report – 4/12/2013

Ryan Schwimmer

4/12/2013 8:27:00 AM

GOLD STILL FEELING PRESSURE FROM CYPRUS; EQUITIES ‘DEFYING GRAVITY’

Precious Metals prices are experiencing significant losses this morning, and that did not change on news of the worst retail sales in nine months. A drop of 0.1 percent was expected, but the U.S. Department of Commerce showed sales fell by 0.4 percent. Stock futures extended losses after the report as well, though in general, “U.S. equities have continued to defy gravity,” according to CIMB’s Song Seng Wun. “Normally, given rising tensions, there will be flight to safety and Gold will benefit. But I suppose at this point, while we are mindful of the increased risk, nobody really believes that the North Koreans will actually carry through on their threats.”

The situation in Cyprus is still affecting the price of Gold as investors worry about the consequences of a troubled eurozone country having to sell off its Gold reserves to save its economy. The Central Bank of Cyprus, however, has denied that it plans to sell part of its Gold reserves. Julian Jessop of Capital Economics said, “This would only become a major concern if countries with much larger holdings were forced to sell. However, among the other troubled eurozone members, only Italy and Portugal hold significant amounts of Gold relative to their borrowing requirements.”

At 9 a.m. (EDT), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,538.00, Down $28.40.
• Silver, $27.05, Down $0.76.
• Platinum, $1,517.00, Down $19.80.
• Palladium, $717.50, Down $16.90.

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