gold

The positive mood among risk assets continued throughout the day yesterday, following better than expected data out of various countries. Gold took out the 1600 USD level and traded close to 1610 in Asian trading hours before profit taking set in. Silver erased all losses of the last week and could additionally profit from strong copper prices, trading as high as 29.80, 3.60 or 13.75% higher from the low seen last Thursday. On the Gold ETF front, the iShares lost 1.5 tons or 48'000 ounces in holdings. On the negative were news from the largest Gold importer India. The Bombay Bullion Association said Gold imports in the last quarter dropped to 125 tons, compared to 286 tons in the previous year and ended the year with a total of 878 tons imported, 8.4% less than in 2010. The outlook for the first quarter of this year, was estimated to drop again by 48%, due to the decline in the Rupee and high local interest rates. Index rebalancing was another theme that circulated yesterday, where selling of Gold and Silver are expected to cap the market in the coming week.