Thursday, March 29, 2012

US gold and copper slide as dollar steadier



NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures slipped
Thursday as the dollar recovered and copper eased more following
its weaker performance in the previous session.
       
     FUNDAMENTALS
     * Gold prices slipped under $1,680 an ounce, extending a
fall from 2-week highs into a third session as the dollar
recovered from near a one-month low and crude oil values turned
lower.
    * Copper was off following a 2 percent fall in the previous
session although doubts over demand in China and the pace of
economic recovery in the U.S. made investors cautious.
    * China's Minmetals Resources plans to use its C$1.3 billion
Anvil Mining acquisition as a platform to buy more copper assets
in central and southern Africa.
    * South Korea's Hyundai Steel expects the steel market to
recover in the second half of this year led by a pickup in
automobiles and construction despite high oil prices, weak
Chinese demand and euro zone debt issues.

    ECONOMY
    * Germany's March unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent from
6.8 percent in February.
    * The March euro zone economic sentiment index fell 0.1 to
94.4, compared with the expected 94.6.
    * Final fourth quarter U.S. GDP at 0830 EDT (1230 GMT) is
seen unchanged from the second estimate at 3.0 percent.
    * U.S. initial jobless claims at 0830 EDT are expected at
350,000, up from last week's 348,000.
         
    MARKETS
    * Global stocks dipped after disappointing U.S. data
tempered the outlook for the world's biggest economy while the
price of oil stabilized following some sharp losses.
    * The euro fell against the dollar as concerns about
contagion from the euro zone debt crisis overshadowed a solid
Italian bond auction.
   
 Prices at 7:17 a.m. EDT (1117 GMT)                      

                               LAST      NET    PCT     YTD
                                         CHG    CHG     CHG
 US gold                    1655.60    -2.30  -0.1%    5.7%
 US silver                   31.825   -0.006   0.0%   14.0%
 US platinum                1635.40     0.20   0.0%   16.8%
 US palladium                647.50     0.15   0.0%   -1.3%
 US copper                   377.05    -2.20  -0.6%    9.7%
   

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