Prices register monthly gains though in July
Bullion metal prices ended mainly lower on Tuesday, 31 July 2012 at Comex. There was general weakness in the raw commodity sector on Tuesday. Prices fell for first time in five days. The market place was subdued ahead of some key central bank meetings this week, and the U.S. jobs report on Friday.
Gold for August delivery ended lower by $9.2 or 0.6%, to end at $1,610.5 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday. On the month, however, gold gained 0.4%.
On Tuesday, silver prices for September delivery ended down 12 cents, or 0.4%, to $27.91 an ounce. Silver gained 1.2% in July.
Markets participants were waiting to see whether the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank will announce any measures when they meet this week.
Focus of the market place this week is on the two-day FOMC meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which starts Tuesday and ends early Wednesday afternoon. Also, the European Central Bank's policy meeting and press conference are on Thursday. The Bank of England also meets to discuss its monetary policy, with results on Thursday. Market watchers will be closely scrutinizing these central bank meetings for any fresh clues on the implementation of quantitative easing of monetary policies. Such would be at least initially bullish for many markets, including the precious metals. Then on Friday comes the all-important U.S. jobs report.
The head of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker, reportedly said over the weekend that the euro-zone members and the European Central Bank will soon act to save the euro.
Tuesday's U.S. economic reports included data from the Commerce Department showing consumer purchases slowed in June, while wages rose. The Conference Board said that U.S. consumer confidence in July climbed for the first rise in six months as Americans grew more hopeful about employment prospects in six months.
Personal income increased in June by 0.5%, which is slightly greater than the 0.4% increase that had been widely expected while personal spending was unchanged, instead of increasing by 0.1% as had been broadly anticipated. Core personal consumption expenditures were up 0.2% month over month, in-line with expectations. Additionally, consumer confidence came in at 65.9 on expectations of a 61.0 reading.
In the currency market on Tuesday, the dollar index, whish weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, fell by 0.12%.
At the MCX, gold prices for October delivery closed higher by Rs 32 (0.1%) at Rs 30,199 per ten grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 30,325 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 30,180 per 10 grams during the day's trading.
At the MCX, silver prices for September delivery closed higher by Rs 147 (0.3%) at Rs 53,974/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 53,920/kg and rose to a high of Rs 54,319/Kg during the day's trading.
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