By Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Gold and silver futures rose in electronic trading Tuesday after euro-zone leaders delayed a decision on paying further aid to Greece, sparking another day of nervous trading for global markets.
Gold for December delivery GC1Z +0.65% rose $15.50, or 0.9%, to $1,673.20 an ounce in electronic trading on the Globex markets, after the contract added more than $35 an ounce in the previous session.
The December silver contract SI1Z -0.49% gained 6 cents, or 0.2%, to $30.86 an ounce.
The moves came as stock markets dropped sharply again across Europe and Asia after Jean-Claude Juncker, prime minister of Luxembourg and president of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, said late Monday that a decision on whether to hand Greece the next tranche of its bailout would be delayed to allow inspectors in Athens to continue their work. Also see Europe Markets.
Fears over the worsening European economy also added to the move out of riskier assets as Goldman Sachs said it’s now forecasting that the euro zone will slip into a “mild recession” in the fourth quarter of 2011 and first quarter of 2012.
Simon Denham, CEO of Capital Spreads, said gold’s bounce back “did not end yesterday as investors were seen to still be considering the precious metal a safety haven and buying in to protect themselves from the market limbo caused by a looming Greek default.”
He added in an email that the moves over the last couple of sessions, which have not been hampered by a strengthening dollar, may indicate “the resumption of a new rally after the recent correction that wiped $300 off the metal’s price.”
