Bullions continue to shed glaze

Gold for February delivery ended lower by $3.7 or 0.2%, to settle at $1,652.9 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday. The contract ended 1.8% lower for the week.

March silver closed lower by 43 cents, or 1.5%, at $30.78 an ounce on Monday, lowest level seen in two weeks. It lost 2.3% last week.

The dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies rose by 0.1% on Monday.

U.S. economic data, however, were mixed on Monday. Pending home sales fell 4.3% in December, with low inventory cutting results, according to data released on Monday by the National Association of Realtors. The trade group's pending-home-sales index declined to 101.7 in December from 106.3 in November. A reading of 100 equals the average level of contract activity in 2001, when NAR started tracking these data.

In addition to December pending home sales, the market also received economic data from the Census Bureau. In December, durable goods rose by 4.6%, which was well ahead of the 1.6% increase, which had been forecast. As expected, aircraft orders were a primary factor for the surge in orders. Nondefense aircraft orders increased 10.1% while defense aircraft orders rose 56.4%.

Traders and investors are awaiting important U.S. economic data due out later in the week. The U.S. Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting begins Tuesday and its interest rate announcement occurs on Wednesday afternoon. Also, the U.S. employment report is out Friday morning.

Excluding transportation related items, durable goods orders increased by 1.3%, which was better than the unchanged reading that had been broadly anticipated.

At the MCX, gold prices for February delivery closed higher by Rs 7 (0.02%) at Rs 30,338 per ten grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 30,427 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 30,278 per 10 grams during the day's trading.

At the MCX, silver prices for March delivery closed lower by Rs 488 (0.83%) at Rs 57,762/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 58,151/kg and fell to a low of Rs 57,677/Kg during the day's trading.

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