Gold News & Info

Source: Dana Samuelson, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold and silver declined Thursday, while platinum and palladium remained steady. Overnight both gold and silver came under modest selling pressure that continued into the early morning today. Silver, in particular, sold off sharply when a large sell order (or orders – almost 12 million ounces) hit the July silver contract just after 7 AM CST, pushing the price momentarily to a low of $18.68 before bargain hunting kicked in. This break of the psychological support level of $19.00 set the tone for the rest of the New York trading session with silver trading primarily between $18.90 and $19.10 until the close. Gold fell also, with the June contract hitting a low of $1,277.30 before rebounding back over $1,280 for rest of the session.

The U.S. Labor Dept. reported this morning that U.S. jobless claims rose 14,000 to 344,000 for the period ending April 26th, their highest level since late February. According to Bloomberg news, economists surveyed were anticipating a median forecast of 320,000 so this report was weaker than expected. Conversely, consumer spending rose 0.9% in March, a bit stronger than expected. The Institute for Supply Management said its monthly manufacturing index rose from 53.7% last month to 54.9% this month, with 17 of 18 industries reporting business expansion in the last month. Following the unusually harsh winter, U.S. businesses across the board are clearly making up for lost time.

Tomorrow morning brings the monthly U.S. jobs report for April, with analysts projecting job growth of 215,000 according to MarketWatch. This monthly report, and its implications for the most important aspect of the U.S. economic recovery, has created sharp short-term volatility for precious metals in recent months. Of equal importance will be the upward or downward revisions to the March and February reports and the overall unemployment report as well.

At the Comex close: June gold fell $12.50 to $1,283.40; July silver dropped 13 cents to $19.04; July platinum lost 40 cents to $1,427.50; and June palladium gained $1.65, to $814.15 an ounce.