Gold News & Info

Source: Dr. Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold gained 0.5% as optimism over Greek debt and Chinese manufacturing data weakened the dollar. Greece offered to buy back $13 billion in debt owed to private creditors in an effort to bring its debt-load to a manageable level and qualify for more future aid. The move comes one day after Angela Merkel said Germany may accept a write-off of Greek debt, and one week after the EU and IMF released $56 billion in aid to Greece, both of which reduce the likelihood of a Greek exit from the euro. The euro rallied on the news and the dollar fell, making gold more attractive to holders of other currencies. The other precious metals also rallied, with silver gaining 1.4%, platinum adding 0.6%, and palladium picking up 0.4%

At the Comex close: February gold gained $8.40 to $1,721.10; March silver added 48 cents to $33.76; January platinum picked up $9.20 to $1,613.80; and March palladium rose $3.05 to $691.25 an ounce.

Increasing optimism about a global economic rebound is helping to drive commodity-demand for precious metals. China's manufacturing index rose to a seven-month high, fueling confidence that the world's second-largest economy is on the mend. And expectations are growing that the new leadership under Xi Jinping will expand fiscal and monetary stimulusin order to reach growth targets.

Hedge funds increased their bullish bets on commodities by the most since August, according to Bloomberg, and holdings in gold-backed ETPs rose to a new all-time record of 2,621.7 tons on Friday. Goldman Sachs is now forecasting a 7% return from commodities over the next twelve months and an 8% return for precious metals.