gold futures prices outlook feb 29 2012

gold futures prices outlook feb 29 2012 : Gold hovered below a three-month high on Wednesday, after rallying 1 percent in the previous session, supported by expectations for more cheap loans to be offered by the European Central Bank later in the day.

FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was little changed at $1,784.64 an ounce by 0026 GMT, after hitting $1,789.40 on Tuesday, its highest level since mid-November. 

* U.S. gold edged down 0.1 percent to $1,786.50. 

* Investors will be watching the second tranche of a three-year, low-interest financing operation by the European Central Bank later in the day. The expectation of the liquidity boost helped lift gold to its highest in more than three months on Tuesday. 

* A survey showed that confidence in the euro zone's economy rose for a second successive month in February, confirming a wider stabilisation across Europe that probably signals only a mild recession this year.

* Uncertainty lingers over the euro zone's effort to solve the debt crisis, as Ireland planned a referendum on a euro zone budget discipline pact and a German court overruled government efforts on a fast-track panel on bailout funds.

* The latest U.S. data painted a mixed picture, showing that consumer confidence rose to a one-year high this month while orders for long-lasting factory goods plunged sharply.

* Spot silver inched down 0.1 percent to $36.86, after surging more than 4 percent and reaching a five-month high of $37.21 in the previous session.
* Spot platinum gained 0.1 percent to $1,716.49.
* Impala Platinum, the world's second-largest platinum producer, said on Tuesday the costs of an illegal strike at its key Rustenburg operation in South Africa have reached 100,000 ounces and a loss of income of 2 billion rand ($263.66 million).

MARKET NEWS
* The Dow closed above 13,000 for the first time since May 2008 on Tuesday and the S&P 500 also hit a milestone, as buoyant U.S. consumer confidence data and a sharp drop in oil prices nudged the nearly five-month rally forward.

* The euro and commodity currencies held their ground in Asia on Wednesday as hopes that European banks will take up a large offer of cheap three-year cash from the European Central Bank bolstered risk appetite.

DATA/EVENTS
0500 Japan Construction orders yy Jan 2012
0530 India Quarterly GDP yy Feb 2012
0855 Germany Unemployment rate sa Feb 2012
1000 EZ Inflation, final yy Jan 2012
1020 EZ Results of ECB's LTRO
1330 U.S. GDP Oct
1445 U.S. Chicago PMI Feb
2350 Japan Business capex (MOF) yy Oct 2011

For the latest updates on the stock market, visit Stock Market Today For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today

Related Post: