Gold News & Info

Source: Dr. Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold tumbled 1.6% and silver 1.89% as risk assets fell on increasing fears of stalled global growth. Profit at Chinese industrial firms fell 5.2% in January and February, the first decline since 2009. And U.S. durable goods orders showed unexpected weakness by coming in lower than forecast. U.S. and global equities fell along with commodities. Platinum lost 1.4% and palladium 2.4%.

At the close: April gold dropped $27 to $1,657.90; May silver lost 62 cents to $32.00; April platinum slid $22.30 to $1,635.20; and June palladium fell $15.65 to $647.35 an ounce.

Failing to reach $1,700 this week dimmed gold's short-term sentiment and technical trading helped to drive it lower as traders square their books for the end of the quarter. Also pressuring gold is the ongoing strike by Indian jewelers protesting higher taxes on gold imports. The world's largest gold consumer, India is in its traditional wedding season and gold jewelry is commonly included in trousseaus. Last week, the president of the Bombay Bullion Association said the taxes would lift retail prices by 6% and result in a huge drop in demand.

On the positive side, two major investment banks expressed their continued bullishness. In a note to clients, Goldman Sachs said "we reiterate our constructive outlook for gold prices in 2012," forecasting prices of $1,785 in three months, $1,840 in six months, and $1,940 in twelve months. The main drivers, in their view, will be "subdued growth and further easing by the Fed in 2012." Morgan Stanley now projects gold prices of $1,845 in 2012 and $2,175 in 2013. They believe the absence of central bank sales, limitations in size of the scrap gold pool, and rising demand from ETFs and coin sales will drive prices higher.