GOLD NEWS UPDATES 22.08.2012

GOLD NEWS UPDATE 22.08.2012:- LONDON: Gold prices rose on Tuesday as the dollar hit its lowest in nearly two weeks against the euro and stock markets rallied, while platinum held near two-month highs as unrest simmered at a mine in major producer South Africa.



Platinum has been the biggest climber of the last seven days, up more than $100 an ounce week-on-week on Tuesday, after police shot dead 34 people after an outbreak of inter-union violence at a mine operated by Lonmin.



Gold prices climbed, meanwhile, in line with European shares and the euro, on optimism that meetings on Greece's future and a strategy being drawn up by the European Central Bank will lead to progress in solving the euro zone debt crisis.



Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $1,623.86 an ounce at 0948 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for December delivery were up $3.40 at $1,626.40. It is approaching key resistance at $1,630 an ounce, which has held it in check since early June.



"Gold has got a good gentle uplift at the moment, with the backdraft of positive news on the euro," Sharps Pixley Chief Executive Ross Norman said. "We're seeing a nice gentle pick up in volumes across Europe on the physical side, (but) we've got all the heavy lifting to do between $1,630 and $1,640."



"There's quite a lot of overhead resistance on the charts, so once we've got a convincing breach of that we need to see a bit more volume as well. Over the summer, it's been particularly light. The market just seems to be drifting higher."



Greece's prime minister will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker this week to try and secure more funding from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and ECB.



German government bonds fell on Tuesday as markets focused on the prospect of ECB buying debt to contain Spanish borrowing costs.



Traders cited a story in British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, which said it could confirm earlier reports in German media that ECB experts were examining plans to effectively cap Spanish and Italian bond yields. (Neal Bhai 9999974733)

COPPER NEWS UPDATED 22.08.2012

COPPER NEWS UPDATED 22.08.2012:- LONDON: Copper marched to a one-month peak on Tuesday, testing the top of its recent range on optimism that the European Central Bank is drawing up a strategy to tackle the euro zone debt crisis, although some investors were wary about further gains.




The euro rallied to a seven-week high versus the dollar as talk of ECB action to ease Spanish and Italian borrowing costs resurfaced, even though the central bank tried to quash such speculation on Monday.



A strong euro makes dollar-priced copper cheaper for European investors. More gains in copper were likely to be limited by the intractable euro zone debt crisis, slower growth in top metal consumer China and a stuttering recovery in the United States, the world's largest economy, some analysts said.



"You've got hopes about the ECB again ... but the general trend hasn't changed much from July, we're still fairly rangebound," s aid Citi analyst David Wilson. "Markets are nervous about taking outright positions in either direction."



Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange jumped 2.1 per cent to close at $7,610 per tonne after touching a session peak of $7,632, the highest since July 20. Copper dropped 1.1 per cent in the previous session.



The market tested the top of a range of $7,300 to $7,600 it has held over the past month. Analyst Edward Meir at INTL FCStone pegged key resistance at $7,620. "A two-day closing break above that mark would be significant," he said in a note.



Market volumes have been thin in recent weeks and Monday's open interest in copper fell to 229,844, its lowest since early 2007.



Markets took heart from coverage by British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, which said it could confirm weekend reports that ECB experts were examining plans to effectively cap Spanish and Italian yields, even if the bank has so far denied the speculation.



In China meanwhile, risk assets including copper received a modest boost after local media reported the Chinese city Chongqing was planning to invest $236 billion in seven major industries.



Import data from the world's top consumer, meanwhile, showed a marginal rise for July, with shipments of refined copper into China at 254,339 tonnes versus 250,097 tonnes in June.



"For now, with no clear trading direction, LME copper will be stuck within a range of $7,200-$7,800. But downside risks will increase over the longer term as Chinese consumer demand remains weak with no sign of improvement in global economics," said Andy Du, derivatives director at Orient Futures.



Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg of Glencore saw potential for stronger demand in China towards the end of the year.



"I think we've got to watch China carefully to see what type of stimulus they will or won't put into place... personally I believe you will see more infrastructure spending in the second half," he told a conference call after the commodity trade house released interim results. (Neal Bhai 9999974733)