Gold Closes the Week above $1,000; Hits New Records in Euros & Sterling on Bear Stearns Bail-Out
From Chris Mullen at GoldSeek.com...
Gold Prices briefly dipped to $990.35 after lower US inflation data was released and took some pressure off the Federal Reserve, now ready to dramatically cut interest rates next week.
But news of a bailout for Bear Stearns, the world’s ninth largest bank, quickly propelled the price of Gold to a new all-time high of $1,007.20 before it pared its gains into the close and ended at a new record closing high with a gain of 0.66% for the session.
For the week, Gold added 2.7%, ending Wall Street trade at $998.50 per ounce and then finishing after-hours trade with Gold at $1,000 an Ounce.
The Gold Price in Euros also ended Friday at a new record weekly close €638.50, and British investors looking to Buy Gold saw the spot price close at £495.50, also a record weekly finish.
Silver dipped to $20.243 and rose to $20.868 before it closed just 3
cents away from of new 27-year closing high with a gain of 1.4%.
Platinum lost $20.50 to $2070, and copper rose slightly to about $3.85.
Crude oil remained near unchanged as the US Dollar index fell to yet another new all-time low and Treasury bonds rose while the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P plummeted on news that Bears Stearns needs to be bailed out by the New York Fed and J.P.Morgan Chase after its cash position "significantly deteriorated".
On Friday Gold & Silver Mining Stocks rose about 1.5% to new all-time highs in early
trade before they were dragged lower for the session as the Dow fell
over 300 points at one point. But the miners then rallied back higher
into the close and ended with roughly 1% gains at new record closing
highs.
The bond market now expects the Fed to cut at least 75 basis points off Dollar interest rates next Tuesday, with a further 50% chance that they will cut by 100 basis points now priced into the futures market.
Next week’s US economic data releases include:
- Monday: the NY Empire State Index, Net Foreign Purchases, Capacity Utilization, and Industrial Production
- Tuesday: Producer Price inflation, Building Permits, Housing Starts, and the FOMC Policy Statement
- Thursday: Initial Jobless Claims, Leading Economic Indicators, and the Philadelphia Fed index.
All markets will be closed for Good Friday next week, re-opening in the US on the following Monday when the London Gold Market will remain shut for the Easter Bank Holiday of March 24th.
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