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Gold jumped to as high as
$1,133/oz in New York before dropping slightly to close with a gain of 0.71%
yesterday. It has since range traded from $1,124/oz to $1,130/oz in Asian
trading this morning. Gold is currently trading at $1,125/oz and in euro and
GBP terms, it is trading at €839/oz and £742/oz respectively. Gold
priced in euros has risen to a new all-time high above €839 an ounce
this morning due to renewed concerns about Greece’s fiscal position
(see News below).
Gold in EUR (YTD)
After single digit returns for the
first quarter, gold and silver gained almost 2% and 6% last week and
continued their gains yesterday. Today has seen some profit taking with the
dollar remaining firm and oil having given up some of its recent gains.
However the recent gains seen in the commodity sector especially with oil
over $86 a barrel and copper over $8,000 per metric ton will lead to
inflation concerns and inflation hedging with gold.
Gordon Brown’s election
announcement and the prospects of a hung parliament will likely see sterling
come under renewed pressure in the coming weeks and should see sterling gold
rise to new record (nominal highs) near £760/oz – from
£742/oz today.
Gold in EUR (1 year)
Silver
Silver has range traded from $17.90/oz to $18.02/oz this morning in Asia.
Silver is currently trading at $17.92/oz, €13.37/oz and
£11.80/oz.
Platinum Group
metals
Platinum is trading at $1,695/oz and palladium is currently trading at
$505/oz and rhodium at $2,600/oz.
News
Concerns about Greece have resurfaced amid a report that the country wants to
amend a standby aid plan to avoid the imposition of onerous fiscal measures
by the International Monetary Fund. The plan, formulated at a European
Union summit last month, would see a combination of bilateral loans from
eurozone countries and aid from the IMF if Athens is unable to meet its
funding needs. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou reportedly fears that
added austerity measures that the IMF probably would require could cause
social and political unrest. Papandreou reportedly wants to alter the plan to
bypass an IMF contribution. Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that
Germany is at odds with other euro-zone countries over the interest rate on
any bilateral loans that are offered to Greece under the plan. The Financial
Times reports that Greece will target US investors with a dollar-denominated
bond. Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou will lead a roadshow to the
United States after April 20, but now no longer plans to travel to Asia.
Greece will this month launch a
multi-billion-dollar bond in the US in its hunt for new investors, selling
itself for the first time as an emerging market country as demand for its
debt dwindles in Europe. This has implications for the euro as a global
reserve currency and could lead to further pressure on the Euro.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown
announced today that Britain will go to the polls on May 6, setting up a
tight election battle over the UK's battered economy and soaring deficit that
could result in political gridlock. Markets fear an election deadlock which
could make it harder for whoever wins the election to push through the tough
medicine the UK needs to confront a budget deficit that is the highest
amongst major economies. It would also make king makers of parties such as
the centrist Liberal Democrats and Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist
Party.
Australia's central bank has
raised interest rates to 4.25% from 4% as it attempts to cool inflation and
slow rises in house prices
Mark O’Byrne
Goldcore
Mark
O'Byrne is the Managing Director of Goldcore, Ireland's Asset Diversification
and Wealth Preservation Specialist. He is regularly quoted and writes in the
financial media and was awarded Ireland’s prestigious Money Mate and
Investor Magazine Financial Analyst of 2006.
You can contact him by calling : the GoldCore
Bullion Services Team on
(Irl)+353 1 632
5010
(UK)+44 203 086 9200
(US) +1 (302)635 1160
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