Gold prices declined, as investors took profits a day after the precious metal hit its 1-month high, and safe-haven buying dried up as a deal between Greece and Cyprus eased fears of an escalating euro zone debt crisis.
Gold holdings of SPDR gold trust, the largest ETF backed by the precious metal, declined to 1,221.26 tons, as on March 21.
Silver holdings of ishares silver trust, the largest ETF backed by the metal, increased to 10,688.56 tons, as on March 22.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell to 82.412, down from 82.833 late Thursday.
Euro extended gains versus the dollar and yen in late trade on Friday, after two euro zone sources told Reuters that finance ministers of the 17-nation euro zone will hold talks on Sunday on the bailout crisis in Cyprus. Euro group head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said, that euro zone finance ministers were focused on keeping Cyprus in the euro zone. Standard & Poor's has cut the sovereign longterm foreign currency credit rating on Cyprus deeper into junk status on Thursday, lowering
the rating to CCC from CCC+, as the country struggles with banking crisis.
Copper & other metals recovered from early losses, helped by bargain hunting & consumer buying in China, and as concern over the impact of the potential bankruptcy of Cyprus eased after it agreed with Greece on the takeover of Greek
units of Cypriot banks. LME copper stocks have climbed to their highest in nearly 10-years & stands at 562,475 tons,
which is the highest since October 2003. China exported 64,781 tons of copper in the first 2-months of this year, almost a quarter of last year's total. Exports in 2012 grew 75% from a year before.
Crude oil futures closed higher, tracking strength in global equities even as investors kept an eye on efforts to secure a bailout in Cyprus ahead of a Monday deadline.
Natural gas futures declined on profit-booking, after prices failed to sustain above $4 per mmbtu. The US drilling rig count slumped by 30 units during the week ended Mar. 22 reaching a total 1,746 rotary rigs working, as per Baker Hughes Inc.
