Gold Prices Tended To Ease

Gold remained firm within a narrow range last week as concerns of over reports of a possible US military action on Iraq continued to influence the market. Although because of lack of follow-through, some short covering helped maintain the tone.

Canadian gold miner Placer Dome had cut its gold hedging programme by 20 per cent was helpful, analysts said. The last Comex commitment of traders report confirmed that the net position of large speculators returned to a modest net long of 14.6 tonnes from a marginally net short position during the week to August 20.

On Friday, the official price of the yellow metal was $ 312.80 per ounce (London PM fix). There may be a slow start to price action this week, commented Mr Kamal Naqvi of Macquarie Research Equities.

Silver enjoyed a better week. The price of the white metal is still being partly dictated by gold and base metals. Silver gained 2.8 per cent week-on-week. Platinum and palladium came back into focus last week with sharp moves higher in illiquid trading conditions. After a sharp rise, both the metals lost sheen. Platinum closed up 4.3% and palladium up 2.8 per cen). ©

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