Gold Price Ends Tues 0.8% Higher as Traders Await Bernanke Testimony

From Chris Mullen at GoldSeek.com...

Gold traded slightly higher in Asia on Tuesday before it fell off in London and saw a $6.40 loss at $1175.50 an ounce.

The Gold Price then stormed back higher for most of trade in New York and ended near its late morning high of $1193.50 with a gain of 0.9%.

The Gold Price in Euros rose to about €924 the ounce.

Silver Prices fell as low as $17.405 before also rallying back higher and ending near the late morning high of $17.75 with a gain of 0.7%.

Platinum gained $9 to $1511, and copper gained nearly 7 cents to about $3.00.
 
Gold Mining and silver equities rose over 2% by late morning before they pulled back a bit midday, but they then climbed back higher in afternoon trade and ended near their earlier highs.

On the data front, the number of new Building Permits granted in June came in greater than analysts forecast, but the actual number of new Housing Starts lagged both May's figure and Wall Street's expectations.

There are no major US economic reports due out Wednesday, but Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will begin his biannual testimony on monetary policy before the Senate Banking Committee. On Thursday, he will then appear before the House Financial Services Committee.
 
Crude oil meantime fell on Tuesday as the US Dollar index and Treasury bonds rose on poor earnings reports, not least from Goldman Sachs, which saw profits decline 82% in the second quarter.

That mixed housing data also sent the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P over 1% lower at the open, but stocks and oil then climbed back higher in afternoon trade and ended with decent gains as traders positioned themselves ahead of Bernanke’s testimony.

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