Gold News & Info

Source: American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold ended slightly lower today as a better-than-expected U.S. jobs report strengthened the dollar and traders locked in profits. During the first five sessions of January, gold gained 5%, its strongest rally since October, so some profit-taking was not unexpected. Comex gold dropped $1.80 to $1,618 an ounce, while silver slid 56 cents to $28.73. Platinum and palladium also lost slightly.

The U.S. dollar index rose to a one-year high after the Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.75%, which tamped gold's gains. The dollar was also supported by ongoing sovereign debt concerns in Europe, especially rising Spanish and Italian bond yields and a recent downgrading of Hungary by Fitch Ratings. �That�s important because it indicates European financial problems are continuing, the bank recapitalization issue has not been solved,� said Jerry Webman, chief economist for OppenheimerFunds.

Gold traders are increasingly bullish and physical demand is building as the euro crisis deepens and tensions with Iran escalate. Ten of 22 surveyed by Bloomberg anticipate gains next week and five were neutral, the highest proportion since Dec. 9. And the U.S. Mint reported on its website that it has sold 45,500 ounces of American Eagle gold coins already this month, compared with 65,500 ounces in the whole of December and 41,000 in November. Plus, a growing number of economists and bond investors think the Fed will announce another huge round of quantitative easing by the middle of the year, which is likely further to stimulate the economy and the gold price.