Gold rebounds following U.S. losses

                           Gold futures are trading to the upside during Wednesday’s Asian session, rebounding back above the all-important USD1,600 per ounce level after falling in Tuesday’s U.S. session. 

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery rose 0.24% to USD1,601.15 per troy ounce in Asian trading Wednesday after settling down 0.54% at USD1,597.75 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Tuesday. 

Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,590.85 a troy ounce, Monday's low, and resistance at USD1,614.40, Monday's high. 

Soaring U.S. equities, due in part to some solid data points there, sent traders scurrying to riskier assets and away from safe-haven fare such as gold. 

In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board said its March reading of consumer confidence fell to 59.7 from a revised 68 in February. Economists expected a March reading of 68.7. 

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose 5.7% in February after falling 3.8% in January. Economists expected a February increase of 4.9%. Core orders fell 0.5%. Economists expected a core increase of 0.5%. The Commerce Department also said new home sales fell 4.6% last month to seasonally-adjusted rate of 411,000, but rose 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. 

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of home prices in 20 metro areas rose 0.9% in December on a seasonally-adjusted basis. On a non-adjusted basis, the index rose 0.2%. Economists expected a seasonally-adjusted increase of 0.5%. 

Elsewhere, it was reported that Russia’s central bank boosted its gold holdings for a fourth consecutive month in February. Turkey’s central bank has also been seen as a recent buyer of bullion. 

Meanwhile, Comex silver for May delivery added 0.25% to USD28.75 per ounce while copper for May delivery rose 0.12% to USD3.458 per ounce. 
Courtesy : Investing.Com

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Silver drops for second day in India

                   Indian silver prices dropped for the second staright day Tuesday following global trends.

Analysts also attributed the losses to speculators trimming their positions

On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) Silverfor delivery in May traded by Rs 181, or 0.33 per cent, to Rs 54,031 per kg in business turnover of 1,586 lots.

Similarly, the white metal for delivery in July declined by Rs 177, or 0.32 per cent, to Rs 55,203 per kg in business volume of 111 lots.

In the international market, silver traded lower at $ 28.81 an ounce in Singapore.

Market analysts said a subdued trend in precious metals in the global markets as Cyprus's bailout plan hurting demand for the safe haven, led to fall in silver prices at futures trade here.

Courtesy : Bullionstreet

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Oil succumbs to profit-taking in Asian trade

                           Oil futures are trading to the downside during Wednesday’s Asian session on what looks like some profit-taking after crude jumped on Tuesday in the U.S. on the back of some decent data points. 

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for May delivery fell 0.22% to USD96.12 per barrel in Asian trading Wednesday after settling up 1.02% at USD95.78 a barrel on Tuesday in the U.S. 

In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board said its March reading of consumer confidence fell to 59.7 from a revised 68 in February. Economists expected a March reading of 68.7. 

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose 5.7% in February after falling 3.8% in January. Economists expected a February increase of 4.9%. Core orders fell 0.5%. Economists expected a core increase of 0.5%. The Commerce Department also said new home sales fell 4.6% last month to seasonally-adjusted rate of 411,000, but rose 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. 

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of home prices in 20 metro areas rose 0.9% in December on a seasonally-adjusted basis. On a non-adjusted basis, the index rose 0.2%. Economists expected a seasonally-adjusted increase of 0.5%. 

Those data points helped lift U.S. stocks to within spitting distance of a new record. Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the two largest U.S. oil companies, both finished higher on the day. 

Elsewhere, Iraq said it will start selling 4 million barrels of oil per month to Egypt starting in April 2014. Iraq is believed to be home to over 143.1 billion barrels of reserves, one of the largest totals among the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. 

Meanwhile, Brent futures for May delivery fell 0.12% to USD109.34 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
Courtesy : Investing.com

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CPM Group sees 3% fall in Gold investment demand this year

               Commodities research and consultant CPM Group sees drop in net buying by gold investors for a second straight year.

Gold investment demand, a major driver behind gold's bull cycle, is expected to fall around three per cent in 2013 after a five-per cent drop in 2012, CPM Group said.

The New York based consultant group also said the average price of gold is expected to fall in 2013 for the first time in 11 years, as fears of catastrophic market events fade, prompting investors to scale back bullion purchases.

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Natural Gas gains on cold weather forecasts, power plant outages

           Natural gas futures jumped up in afternoon Tuesday trading as weather models continued to predict below-normal temperatures sticking round over the heavily populated eastern half of the U.S., while power plant outages fueled demand as well 

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for delivery in May traded at USD3.978 per million British thermal units, up 2.33%.

The commodity hit a session low of USD3.889 and a high of USD3.994.

Updated weather forecasting models on Tuesday indicated below-normal temperatures staying in place for most of the eastern half of the U.S. over the next five to ten days, which kept prices on the upswing.

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