by Alasdair MacLeod
Gold Money
Gold and silver were quietly firm this week, with gold trading at $1738 in European morning trade, up $10 from last Friday’s close, and silver at $26.02, up 12 cents on the same time scale. Unspectacular perhaps, but the market has a good underlying feel to it. Every morning, we awaken to find prices have been lower overnight in Asia to subsequently recover, except this morning when they opened higher at the off and have then drifted lightly.
Lower prices in Asia are counterintuitive, because Indian demand for physical is strong and China certainly is not selling. In February, withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange were over 92 tonnes — admittedly down from January’s 159 tonnes, but nearly three times domestic mine output. There is only one valid conclusion, and that is bullion banks’ attempts to manage prices lower in these inflationary times have concentrated their efforts outside US market hours.