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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
 Posted - 03/31/2008 : 15:30:51
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Updated: New York, Mar 31 16:31London, Mar 31 21:31Tokyo, Apr 01 05:31
Gold, Silver Fall; Inflation Concerns Ease as Commodities Drop
By Pham-Duy Nguyen
March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Gold and silver fell after a decline in commodity prices reduced demand for precious metals as a hedge against inflation.
The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities fell as much as 2.3 percent today, led by declines in soybeans, wheat and crude oil. Gold climbed to $1,033.90 an ounce, the highest ever, on March 17. Oil, gasoline, corn, soybeans, wheat and platinum also advanced to records this year.
``A drop in commodity prices might dull some of these inflationary pressures that gold has been benefiting from,'' said Stephen Platt, a commodity analyst at Archer Financial Services Inc. in Chicago.
Gold futures for June delivery dropped $15, or 1.6 percent, to $921.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal gained 10 percent this quarter and dropped 5.5 percent in March.
Silver futures for May delivery tumbled 63 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $17.31 an ounce. The metal gained 16 percent this quarter and fell 13 percent this month.
Soybeans fell the maximum allowed by the Chicago Board of Trade, and wheat dropped to a two-month low after a government report showed farmers will plant more to take advantage of record prices. Crude fell as much as 5.1 percent on speculation a slumping U.S. economy will slash fuel demand.
Commodities headed for the first monthly loss in four after reaching records in March. The CRB Index touched 385.41 today, down from the record 422.12 on March 13.
CFTC Data
Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators decreased their net-long position in Comex gold futures in the week ended March 25, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on March 28.
Speculative long positions, or bets prices will rise, outnumbered short positions by 175,742 contracts, agency data showed. Net-long positions fell by 16,267 contracts, or 8.5 percent, from a week earlier.
``The market is still heavily weighted to the long side,'' Scotia Capital Inc. said in a report on March 28. ``Gold prices will be vulnerable to any bearish signals.''
Still, a decline in prices may spur renewed demand, some analysts said. Gold rallied 31 percent last year as consumer costs rose 4.1 percent, the most since 1990.
``The Fed seems ill-prepared to fight inflation at this point,'' said Tom Hartmann, a commodity analyst at Altavest Worldwide Trading Inc. in Mission Viejo, California. ``Until that trend is broken, the only course of action is to buy on weakness.''
The euro has climbed 8.2 percent against the dollar in the first quarter as the Federal Reserve reduced U.S. borrowing costs.
To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: March 31, 2008 14:15 EDT
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Think positive. |
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Ant
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
894 Posts |
 Posted - 03/31/2008 : 17:59:37
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If prices go down, I will be happy. If prices go up, that will make me happy, too. 
I don't even want to venture to say what the markets are going to do. None of it makes any sense to me now. I think I'm going to have to go get fitted for one of those shiny tin-foil hats. |
Lovely dimes, the liveliest coin, the one that really jingles. --Truman Capote
Coins are the metallic footprints of the history of nations. --William H. Woodin |
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Nickelless
Administrator
USA
5580 Posts |
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Saul Mine
Penny Collector Member
USA
343 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2008 : 12:27:24
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| It amazes me that people get paid to write this drivel. All they do is string together a bunch of clichés. It would help some if public schools would teach a smattering of economics so that people would at least have heard the words and know the meanings. The average adult has no idea what "inflation" means except that it has something to do with rising prices. Inflation is an increase in the money supply, but the average adult has no idea what that means either. This crap from Bloomberg could just as well be a UFO report for all the good it does. |
A penny sorted is a penny earned!
Please use tinyurl.com to post links. Long links make posts hard to read. |
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Gold, silver fall: inflation concerns eases
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