08:13 AM Eastern Standard Time, 03/09/2010 (MidnightTrader) — Renewed hopes for Greece being able to tackle its debt woes is weakening investors’ appetite for gold in early morning trade Tuesday. Meanwhile, there is growing concern that Chinese demand for gold may not be as strong as once thought. Expectations of European Union intervention and fiscal discipline by the Greek government is pushing confidence for the euro zone as a whole, and pushing up the euro against the greenback. The cost to protect against corporate bond defaults fell to its lowest rate in seven weeks as well on the back of growing confidence in Greece, which in turn has decreased the allure of alternative assets. At 0810 ET, gold is 0.5% lower at $1,117.90, while silver is 1.34% weaker at $1,704.00, and copper is down around 1% at $337.75. Turning to Asia, China’s foreign exchange regulator said that China is unlikely to invest too heavily in gold as a way to diversify its portfolio, given the yellow metal’s poor returns over the past 30 years. The director of China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Yi Gang, said that "gold is not a bad asset, but currently a few factors limit our ability to increase foreign exchange investment in gold." The country is one of the biggest purchasers of gold in the world. On the corporate front, Anglo Platinum’s (AGPPY) share price target was raised by JP Morgan, as the Wall Street firm stated that Angloplat was well positioned to respond to the improved platinum group metals demand. The world’s largest producer of precious metals, Angloplat is part of mining giant Anglo American (AAUKY).

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