Gold topped $ 1,400 an ounce in Europe on Wednesday, simmering tensions in Libya’s renunciation of interest in the metal as a haven from risk, but gains were limited by concerns over strong career may have been exaggerated .

Spot gold was trading at $ 1,401.50 an ounce at 0933 GMT, against $ 1,399.20 late on Tuesday in New York. U.S. equity futures Gold for April delivery fell 30 cents to $ 1,400.80 an ounce.

The metal reached its highest level since January 1410 more than $ 4 per ounce on Tuesday that concerns about violence in the Middle East fueled risk aversion, but later, as investors cashed in gold retirement earnings to cover losses in other markets.

Even if gold remains bound by fears that last week a 2.4 percent increase in prices has led the region becomes unbearable, tension diamond are further supported by Libya.

“Gold has certainly achieved rapidly during the past two weeks on the back of the tensions in the Middle East, especially after riots broke out in Libya,” said Pradeep Unni, senior analyst Richcomm Global Services in Dubai.

“What is surprising, however, is a steady decline in investment demand, despite this uncertainty,” he added. “This suggests that the gains of recent weeks could succumb to profit taking when things disappear.”

The violence erupted in Libya last week after protesters took to the streets to demand an end to the rule of 41 years of Muammar Gaddafi, after protests earlier this year toppled leaders in Tunisia and Egypt.

A challenge Gaddafi said he was ready to die “a martyr” on Tuesday and vowed to crush a growing insurgency that has seen parts of the East is free from his regime and deadly unrest in the capital, Tripoli.

Risk aversion SPREADS

The broader market showed generalized risk aversion. stock markets retreated in Europe after a fresh session in Asia, while prices of industrial metals eased, but concerns about the release of Libya, rich in oil pushed crude oil prices.

While both nominal U.S. shelters Treasuries, German government bonds and Swiss franc rose, with the Swiss franc to a three-week high against the dollar.

Index of dollars. DXY fell 0.3 percent.

But while retailers have reported strong demand for investment products such as gold bars, ingots of interest in exchange-traded funds backed by soft.

longer covered by the world’s gold ETF, the SPDR Gold Trust, said farms had fallen to 1,218,243 tons, on Tuesday from 1,223.098 tons a day before.

Shares of the ETF world’s largest silver, the iShares Silver Trust, fell to 10,342.89 10,519.05 tonnes tonnes on Tuesday from the previous day.

Silver was $ 32.90 an ounce from $ 33.04. The metal has increased significantly this month, is concerned about the tightness of the market, but the spokesman of metals consultancy GFMS said on Wednesday there was no reason for concern of an oversupply.

“We expect a fairly strong increase (from production of new mines) this year,” Paul Walker, chief executive of GFMS, told Reuters in an interview. “The increased production of the silver mine to keep even a surplus.

Platinum was at $ 1,801.74 an ounce against $ 1,788.50, while palladium is $ 808.97 against $ 802.23. tensions simmer

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