Ongoing eurozone concerns and after-market earnings reports from IBM and Intel contributed as well
Gold and silver were lower Wednesday morning amid ongoing eurozone concerns, statements from eurozone central bankers dampening hopes of additional liquidity injections and after-market earnings reports from high-tech bellwethers IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) yesterday.
Spot gold was down 0.19%, bid at $1,646.90 as of 10:39 a.m., having traded as high as $1,648.60 and as low as $1,636.40 an ounce, according to Kitco market data. The London afternoon reference price was set at $1,644 $8.50 an ounce higher than Tuesday’s afternoon reference price.
Spot silver was showing a 0.38% loss, bid at $31.59. The morning high as of time of writing was $31.75 and the low was $31.30. Wednesday’s reference price was set at $31.61 an ounce in the London a.m., 3 cents an ounce below Tuesday’s price fix.
Germany auctioned 4.2 billion euros ($5.5 billion) of two-year notes at a record-low 0.14% yield Wednesday morning as worries over Italy and Spain’s ability to meet now-more-strictly-enforced eurozone debt and deficit limits are going into effect. In related news, EU and U.K. central banks aren’t likely to inject more liquidity into their respective banking systems.
Gold bullion prices drifted lower, hitting $1,640 an ounce, in London morning trading Wednesday, 1.1% lower on the week, BullionVault reported in its London Gold Market report.
“People won’t want to commit too much at this point,” BullionVault quoted Ronald Leung, a dealer in physical bullion at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong. “There is some [gold] buying when prices fall to the $1,630-$1,640 level, but the volume shrinks when prices rebound to $1,660-$1,670.”
