Gold, Silver Lower as Greeks Drag Feet on Austerity Measures

by Andrew Burger | February 6, 2012 11:36 am

All eyes are on Greek debt negotiations this week, with U.S. companies at the tail end of the quarterly earnings season and a light week of U.S. economic reports[1] ahead.

News that Greece had further delayed approval [2]of the latest austerity measures being imposed by the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund — the so-called “Troika” — soured sentiment and risk appetite across markets.

Spot gold was 0.5% lower Monday morning, bid at $1,716.90 per ounce with an ask price of $1,717.90. Spot gold traded as high as $1,724.10 and as low as $1,710.60. The London afternoon fixed reference price came in at $1,719, $15 per ounce lower than Friday’s price fix, according to Kitco market data[3].

Spot silver was showing a loss of 0.7%, bid at $33.43 per ounce with an ask price of $33.53. The morning high as of time of writing was $33.69, and the low was $32.90. Friday’s reference price was set at $33.51 in the London a.m., 41 cents per ounce below Friday’s fixed reference price.

Gold prices had traded higher in Asia[4] after a large drop Friday as volume continued to pick up with the reopening of Chinese and Asian exchange and over-the-counter trading. Gold bullion prices resumed their decline in London morning trading[5], however, hitting $1,713 per ounce by lunchtime — down 2.8% from last week’s high — according to BullionVault’s London Gold Market report.

In stock exchange trading, gold and silver trusts also were moving lower.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD[6]) was moving lower, down around 0.4%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU[7]) was showing losses of around 0.5%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV[8]) was moving lower, down around 0.4%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs were mixed.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX[9]) was up around 0.1%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ[10]) was showing losses of 1.55%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL[11]) was down around 0.85%.

Gold mining shares were mixed to down, with Agnico-Eagle Mines

(NYSE:AEM[12]) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX[13]) showing gains.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines was showing gains of around 1.25%.
• Barrick Gold was up around 0.7%.
• Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO[14]) was down almost 1%.
• Goldcorp (NYSE:GG[15]) was up nearly 0.4%.
• Kinross Gold Corp. USA (NYSE:KGC[16]) was showing losses of 0.5%.
• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM[17]) was down nearly 1.1%.
• NovaGold Resources (AMEX:NG[18]) was showing losses of some 1.6%.
• Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY[19]) was down around 0.7%.

Silver mining shares were trading lower to open the sixth week of 2012 trading.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE[20]) was moving lower, down around 0.65%.
• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL[21]) was 0.55% lower.
• Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS[22]) was showing losses of around 0.55%.
• Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW[23]) was down around 0.35%.
• Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI[24]) was down about 1%.

As of this writing, Andrew Burger did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of BullionVault [25]contributed to this report.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/02/gold-silver-prices-greek-austerity-gld-aem-abx-mining-stocks/

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