Gold Prices Tumble
NEW YORK (
) --
were falling Friday as Greek debt fears weighed on dollar backed commodities.
Gold for April delivery was sinking $12.10 to $1,082.60 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have trade as low as $1,097.70 and as low as $1,078.10.
was rising 0.74% to $80.58.
The euro was coming under pressure, which buoyed the dollar, after
Greece's Gross Domestic Product
contracted by 0.8% in the fourth quarter which was worse than expected. Although the European Union, IMF, European Central Bank as well as Germany and France have all pledged to support Greece, the news sparked fears that the financial situation was worse than anticipated.
Also curbing risk appetite for commodities was the news that The People's Bank of China raised the reserve requirement for banks by another 50 basis points. This restriction will further tighten lending in China, which has been hailed as stimulating the global economy
Investors are also closing out of some positions before the long holiday weekend adding to gold's downside. Many analysts expect price volatility to continue. "I would agree
with a range of $1,060 to $1,100," says David Morgan, founder of Silver-Investor.com. "I want to see it get above $1,100 and stay there three days in a row. I'm just a little suspect that this isn't going to be a long term consolidation from here." Morgan expects the $1,000 an ounce support level to hold even with further consolidation.
were slipping 33 cents to $15.25 while copper was falling 9 cents to $3.04.
Mining stocks, a more leveraged way to
, were down along with broader equities.
Barrick Gold
(ABX)
was falling 2.48% to $36.15 while
Newmont Mining
(NEM) - Get Report
was slipping 2.29% to $45.69. Other large-cap miners
Kinross Gold
(KGC) - Get Report
and
Goldcorp
(GG)
were down over 2% to $17.75 and $36.56, respectively.
Shares of
Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold
(FCX) - Get Report
were lower by 2.50% to $72.32, and
Southern Copper
(PCU)
was slipping 1.59% to $29.10.
The popular physically backed ETF,
SPDR Gold Shares
(GLD) - Get Report
, was down 0.97% to $106.08.
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--
Written by Alix Steel in New York
.
Alix joined TheStreet.com TV in February 2007. Previously, she held positions in film and theater production, management, and legal administration. Alix has a degree in communications and theater from Northwestern University.