Gold And Silver Fall

Ivaylo
28 Jun, 2006
Metals

August gold will likely trade within $580-$600 an ounce through Thursday then look for direction from currencies. The mood is still cautious ahead of the FOMC interest rate decision with some speculating a half-point rate increase instead of 0.25 percentage points that is widely expected. A steeper increase in the interest rate would slow down the dollar''s depreciation against European currencies and so diminish gold''s attractiveness as an investment tool.

[R]5:00 AM Gold falls on selling pressure ahead of Fed meeting.[/R]
The benchmark August gold contract ended $3.30 lower at $584.40 a troy ounce. July silver futures hit a two-week high of $10.62 an ounce. But the contract faced selling to close at $10.195 an ounce, down 4.5 cents on the day. July platinum futures finished up $7 at $1,188.30 an ounce. Traders noted that most of the activity was seen in spread trading as the July contract rolls into October. September palladium settled down $6.35 at $314.20 an ounce. The most-traded September copper contract shed 14.70 cents to end at $3.0860 per pound.

Petroleum products futures maintained most of their gains. August crude-oil futures advanced 12 cents to $71.92 after rising as high as $72.50 a barrel. July gasoline settled up 2.12 cents at $2.20 a gallon. July heating oil rose 2.02 cents to $1.9587. On the New York Board of Trade, July Arabica coffee futures finished up 0.75 cent at 95.35 cents a pound, while September gained 0.75 cent to 96.70 cents. Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports for July finshed down 0.12 cent at 15.64 cents a pound while October shed 0.12 cent to 16.19 cents a pound.