market talk

Spot gold may fall further but the market is nearing
levels that central banks and emerging markets may find an attractive buying
opportunity, says HSBC's James Steel. Central banks, especially in emerging
markets, have already been upping purchases of gold in recent months. HSBC's
Steel also sees positive gold exchange-traded fund demand of late, and notes
expectations that retail investor coin and small bar demand may perk up given
the over $100 a troy ounce price decline in the last week. Warns, however, that
these factors might not support prices in the very near term, as the gold
market "appears to be hostage to Greek debt developments and euro-US dollar
movements." Spot gold trades at $1,674.30/oz, down 2.5% since the start of the
week.