GOLD PRICE losses of 1.3% for the week held little changed in London on Friday, despite a drop in the Dollar following a new estimate showing the US economy shrank 0.7% in the first 3 months of the year.
New data from debt-stricken Greece showed bank deposits shrinking to a 10-year low last month, as US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew
urged Eurozone leaders to resolve the 5-year old crisis without "waiting" for it to worsen.
Market measures of so-called 'contagion risk' from a Grexit have fallen, notes London-based consultancy Capital Economics, seemingly "complacent [and] supporting the view that an escalation of the Greek crisis would be another positive for gold."
The Dollar gold price crept up Friday afternoon in London to $1192 per ounce as US stock markets tracked a drop in European shares to open the day lower.
Silver tracked the gold price, also rising from near 2-week lows to $16.80 per ounce.
The Dollar dropped to its lowest level of the week against the Euro near $1.10 after the second estimate of US GDP also confirmed a 0.1% annualized drop in the domestic price level.
"The price of gold has fallen from $1232 to $1180 over the past two weeks," notes a technical analysis from bullion bank Scotia Mocatta.
"We had been bullish the metal while it held above $1200...[but while] momentum is currently to the down side, in the big picture the metal has been a sideways trade the past two months."
"After the rout to the downside," agrees Swiss refining and finance group MKS's trading desk, "the market looks set to continue to trade in a 1180-1195 range.
However, "a break to the downside [is] looking more likely in line with the surging USD."
Over in major gold consumer market India, meantime, "Rupee gold prices are trading at a discount of $3-4 per ounce for the first time in 2015," says a note from precious metals specialists Metals Focus, adding that local silver prices are also trading at a slight discount to the global benchmark of London quotes.
Unlike Indian gold demand – now entering a seasonal lull with Hindu festival calendars, ending with the late-summer restart of weddings – "Lower silver prices have led to an up-tick in demand for silver jewellery, as well as silverware," says Metals Focus.
