Gold and silver were moving higher Friday morning as consumer spending in February rose at its fastest rate in seven months. Consumer spending has risen for three straight months and personal income for five.
Spot gold was slightly higher, up 0.07% as of 12 noon, having traded as high as $1,670.70 and as low as $1,658.90 an ounce, according to Kitco market data. The London afternoon reference price was set at $1,662.50, $5 an ounce higher than Thursday’s afternoon reference price.
Spot silver was showing a 0.12% gain, bid at $32.30, with an ask price of $32.40. The morning high as of time of writing was $32.74 and the low was $32.16. Friday’s reference price was set at $32.43 in the London a.m., 64 cents an ounce above Thursday’s price fix.
Personal-consumption expenditures (PCE) — i.e., consumer spending rose a much-greater-than-anticipated 0.8% in February, to $86 billion, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported. February personal income rose 0.2%, 1/10th of a percentage point below consensus expectations, or $28.2 billion, while disposable personal income (DPI) rose 0.2%, or $18.9 billion, 0.1% adjusted for inflation. Real PCE rose 0.5%.
The Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index slipped in March from the 10-month high set in February, though March’s seasonally adjusted 62.2 reading was the fifth consecutive month the index has been above 60, ISM Chicago reported.
Eurozone finance ministers voted to add an additional 200 billion euros ($267 billion) to the 500 million euro ($667.5 billion) European Stability Mechanism (ESM), which, along with the 440 billion euro ($587.4 billion) temporary outgoing European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), form a “firewall’ of emergency lending capacity meant to prevent a sovereign debt crisis and contagion breaking out.
In Spain, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is expected to unveil the country’s “most austere budget since before returning to democracy in 1978.”
Gold bullion prices reached $1,669 an ounce, more or less unchanged on the week, in London morning trading Friday, but down for a second consecutive month, BullionVault reported in its London Gold Market report.
“The physical market has stopped playing an important supportive role,” BullionVault quoted one Singapore dealer speaking to Reuters this morning. “There is so much physical material, yet we don’t see any good off take, as people are worried that it’s not the right time to invest in gold…. We don’t expect to see real physical demand until prices drop below $1,600.”
In U.S. stock exchange trading, gold and silver trusts were moving between small gains and losses.
The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) was up some 0.07%.
The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) was moving around the unchanged level.
The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) was doing likewise.
Gold and silver mining ETFs were moving higher.
The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) was showing gains of around 0.05%.
The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) was showing gains of more than 0.6%.
The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) was up some 0.15%.
Gold mining shares were down closer to 2% than 1% as a rule, NovaGold Resources the exception.
Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) was showing gains of around 0.65%.
Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) was up around 0.05%.
Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) was up more than 1.5%.
Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) was more than 0.8%.
Kinross Gold Corp. USA (NYSE:KGC) was up some 0.4%.
Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) was down more than 0.8%.
NovaGold Resources (NYSEAMEX:NG) was higher, up around 0.4%.
Yamana Gold (USA) (NYSE:AUY) was up around 0.5%.
Silver mining shares were mixed as end-of-quarter trading drew to a close.
Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) was showing losses of some 1.2%.
Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was up more than 0.4%.
Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) was showing gains around 0.3%.
Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) was down some 0.4%.
Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) was down around 0.5%.
As of this writing, Andrew Burger did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of BullionVault contributed to this report.
