Metals under broad pressure; silver slides back below $30 mark
By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures traded lower Thursday, looking set to break a two-session winning streak as gains for the dollar siphoned some money away from metals.
Gold for April delivery (GCJ11 1,354, -11.30, -0.83%) shed $11.40, or 0.9%, to stand at $1,353.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Most metals moved lower to start, pulled by lower equities and the higher dollar. Renewed concerns about Portuguese debt have failed so far to ignite safe-haven buying for gold, but the euro came under selling pressure. Read about soaring Portuguese yields
A stronger dollar is negative for commodities as it makes them more expensive for holders of other currencies, broadening their investment appeal.
Copper traded around its lowest in a week, with the March contract (HGH11 450.20, -2.20, -0.49%) most recently down 1 cent, or 0.3%, at $4.51 per pound.
March silver (SIH11 2,986, -41.60, -1.37%) , which soared past $30 an ounce on Wednesday, retreated 37 cents, or 1.2%, to $29.89 an ounce. Silver ended at its best since Jan. 3 on Tuesday.
“We expect to see sideways trading in most markets for the balance of the week, as a period of consolidation is long overdue,” said analysts at MF Global in report to clients Thursday.
Egypt “may heat up once again ... which is why we would not want to get too short here,” they added. Protests against President Hosni Mubarak in the center of Cairo have been growing in size, and strikes and other labor protests are also underway.
