Bullion metals turn little pale

Prices stay steady on a weekly basis

Bullion metal prices ended little lower on Friday, 23 July 2010 at Comex. Prices remained somewhat near the unchanged mark despite quite a few better than expected earning reports. Even results from the European bank-stress tests failed to spur any safe-haven buying in bullion metals. The dollar also remained steady on Friday.



Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies and also vice versa. Recently, the embattled euro has played stronger role in moving prices rather than dollar fluctuation. Bullion metals have registered increase in prices despite strong dollar in recent times and vice versa.

On Friday, gold for August delivery ended at $1,187.8 an ounce, lower by $7.8 (0.7%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. During intra day trading, prices rose to a high of $1,203.9. Prices closed below the $1,200 mark for six consecutive sessions. For the week, gold ended lower by a mere 0.1%.

Gold ended the month of June higher by 2.5%. For the second quarter, gold ended up by 12%, its seventh consecutive quarterly gain. For the first quarter of this year, gold rose by 1.7%. On a year to date basis, gold is higher by 9.4%.

On Friday, September Comex silver futures ended lower by 2 cents (0.1%) at $18.1 an ounce. For the week, silver ended lower by 0.6%. For the second quarter, silver ended higher by 3.1%. For the first quarter of this year, silver rose by 3%. On a year to date basis, silver is higher by 7.2%.

Among the major earning reports expected for the day on Friday, better-than-expected bottom lines came from Dow components American Express, McDonalds, Microsoft and Verizon. Among the more widely held names to report, Amazon.com was the only one that came short of the consensus estimate.

In the much awaited bank stress tests on Friday, most European banks passed the tests. But market participants were generally unfazed by the midday announcement. That was largely because the stringency of the tests was unclear and the tests didn't really do anything to address concerns about the pace of the economic recovery.

In the currency market on Friday, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, remained steady.

Gold had ended FY 2009 higher by 24%. Silver futures had ended 2009 up 50%. The dollar index had lost 4.2% against its counterparts last year.