Gold futures extended their losses and the U.S. dollar rebounded against a basket of foreign currencies after Wednesday afternoon’s release of the latest Fed Beige Book.
COMEX gold futures – per the December 2011 contract – settled lower by $5.80, or 0.4%, at $1,647.00 per ounce. However, in electronic trading following the COMEX close the yellow metal dropped to $1,641.00 per ounce.
Gold’s sell-off coincided with a rebound in the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which recaptured the large majority of its earlier losses to trade down by just 0.1% at 77.091 this afternoon. The euro currency, which had been higher by as much as 0.8% at 1.3869 against the greenback, turned lower by 0.1% to 1.3741.
Silver futures followed the yellow metal southward, dropping $0.77, or 2.4%, to $31.07 per ounce, amid weakness in precious metals and the broader commodities complex.
While the Fed’s Beige Book largely did not provide any surprising details about the state of the U.S. economy, traders used its release as an excuse to take profits following yesterday’s rally in stocks and commodities. With many dollar-denominated asset classes moving into negative territory, the greenback invariably bounced back from its earlier losses.
Extorre Gold Mines Makes Key Appointments at Cerro Moro
- Mr. Mulroney is a qualified Mining Engineer with over 25 years' global experience in project management and mine development.
- He has held the positions of Project Director for Kula Gold at the Woodlark Project in PNG, Project Manager for Santa Barbara Mines Ltd in Western Australia, and General Manager Development for Mirabella's Santa Rita nickel mine in Brazil.
- For the past 13 years Mr. Calocchia has held senior management positions in mining companies operating in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.
- Most recently, he held the positions of Country Manager and Institutional Relations / Legal Manager for Andean Resources Ltd (now Goldcorp Inc).