Learn Why Precious Metals Recorded Gains This Week Directly At Precious-Metal.org

March 6, 2010 – Taking advantage of a drop in the US dollar, precious metals posted gains as demand increased and news of a weekend meeting about the Greek debt crisis weakened the American currency. Gold, silver, palladium and platinum all posted gains on continued investor optimism.

Gold ended the week by gaining $1.90 to close at $1,135.40. Gold benefitted from the announcement of a weekend meeting between Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and German Chancellor Angela Merkel for discussions on the Greek debt situation. Merkel was involved in the promise of “determined and coordinated action, if needed” to aid Greece.

The US Dollar Index dropped 0.129 to close at 80.43 as investors moved back to the euro on news of the meeting. “Investors want to hold a currency that’s going to maintain its value,” said Frank Lesh, a trader at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago. “Gold is a part of the currency crosses now. The international currency is gold.”

After news of Ford Motor Co.’s 43 percent increase in sales and General Motors’ 12 percent gain, platinum and palladium finished the week with gains as both precious metals are important in automotive emission control systems. Platinum closed even at $1,577.00 on Friday, but gained 2.5 percent for the week. Palladium gained nearly $40 per ounce for the week and reached its highest level since June 23, 2008. Palladium also rose for the eighth consecutive session, the most since October 2009.

Silver closed up for the sixth consecutive session, gaining 24 cents to end at $17.37 per ounce. Silver gained 5.2 percent for the week and lowered the Gold / Silver Ratio to 65.31 as it made gains more rapidly than gold. The outlook for precious metals next week remains favorable as evidenced by a Bloomberg survey of industry experts where 73 percent expect gold prices to rise. 

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Danny Burns

Senior Staff Writer - Precious-Metal.org