Gold, Silver Nudge Higher

Ivaylo
27 Dec, 2006
New York City

Gold and silver advanced in thin, trading on Tuesday supported by technical buying and short covering, closing, though below the intraday highs as crude futures declined. Crude contracts ended with sharp losses, under the pressure of the extremely warm weather in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest. Gold and silver slipped from their highs when oil shares dropped, following an early climb on worries about the nuclear program of Iran and increasing militant attacks in Nigeria.

[R]5:00 AM Gold and silver prices edged higher on Tuesday, restricted by oil slump.[/R]
February gold settled $4.60 higher at $626.90 a troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. March silver added 9 cents to finish at $12.725 an ounce. In other metals trading, January platinum gained $1.50 to end at $1,123 an ounce, while the April contract was steady at $1,132 an ounce. March palladium advanced $3 to settle at $329.20 an ounce. March copper contract added 2.4 cents to close at $2.8780 per pound.

In energy trading on the Nymex, the February crude oil shed $1.31 to $61.10 a barrel after plummeting as low as $60.50 a barrel, the lowest level for a front month contract since late November. January heating oil slipped 5.87 cents to $1.6233 a gallon and January unleaded gasoline finished with a loss of 5.08 cents at $1.5722 a gallon. January natural gas futures settled 52.2 cents, or 7.9%, lower at $6.113 a million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, Arabica coffee futures advanced after speculators and funds were active buyers. Overall volume flows were flat, however, as the London coffee market was closed. March coffee futures gained 2.3 cents higher at $1.2770 a pound. March raw sugar futures dipped 0.06 cents to end at 11.86 cents a pound.