Gold was higher and silver slightly lower Wednesday morning as Greek leaders and eurozone paymasters had still not resolved all the issues associated with a second round of austerity measures before a conference call of European Union finance ministers. In the U.S., manufacturing jumped 0.7% in January, while overall industrial production was unchanged.
Spot gold was 0.52% higher at 10:55 a.m., bid at $1,730.10 with an ask price of $1,731.10. Spot gold traded as high as $1,738.40 and as low as $1,724.90. The London morning fixed reference price came in at $1,725.50, $2.50 an ounce higher than Tuesday’s afternoon price fix, according to Kitco market data.
Spot silver was showing a 0.03% gain, bid at $33.59, with an ask price of $33.69. The morning high at the time of writing was $34.09, and the low was $33.40. Wednesday’s reference price was set at $33.69 in the London a.m., 18 cents an ounce above Tuesday’s reference price fix.
Total January industrial production came in at 95.9% of its 2007 average, 3.4% above its level a year ago. December’s industrial production was revised upwards, to 1%, from an initial 0.4% estimate. Capacity utilization dipped to 78.5%, 1.8% below its long-run (1972-2011) average, according to the Federal Reserve.
Gold bullion prices rose to $1,732 an ounce, slightly above where it opened the week, in London morning trading Wednesday, according to BullionVault’s London Gold Market report.
Gold priced in euros jumped higher, to 1,322 euros per ounce, as the euro fell sharply against the dollar Wednesday morning London time, following German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble’s concerns that Greece may not be granted a second round of emergency funding in time for mid-March Greek government bond redemptions.
Gold and silver trusts were moving higher in stock exchange trading:
The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) moved higher, up more than 1%.
The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) showed gains of 0.6%.
The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) was up 0.4%.
Gold and silver mining ETFs were heading higher:
The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) was around 0.65% higher.
The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) showed gains of more than 1.3%.
The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) was up around 1%.
Gold-mining shares had across-the-board gains:
Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) was showing gains of some 1.35%.
Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) was up 0.55%.
Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) was up nearly 2.4%.
Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) was up nearly 0.9%.
Kinross Gold Corp. USA (NYSE:KGC) was up around 0.3%.
Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) was up around 2.25%.
NovaGold Resources (AMEX:NG) was unchanged.
Yamana Gold USA (NYSE:AUY) was up around 1.4%.
Silver-mining shares headed higher as well:
Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) was moving higher, up more than 1.5%.
Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was moving lower, down some 0.4%.
Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) was showing gains of around 0.67%.
Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) was up around 1.55%.
Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) was moving around the unchanged level.
Adrian Ash of BullionVault contributed to this report.
As of this writing, Andrew Burger did not hold a position in any of the securities named here.
