Daily Gold Update

Source: Dr. Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold held most of yesterday's 1% gain, dipping 70 cents as the dollar edged up against the euro. After plummeting when Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Junker called it "dangerously high," the euro slowed its slide while the dollar gathered minor support from the Fed's Beige Book, which said U.S. growth should rebound slightly after being suppressed by uncertainty surrounding the fiscal cliff last quarter. A rising dollar pressures gold because it is denominated in dollars internationally, and becomes more expensive for holders of other currencies. Silver also finished virtually unchanged, adding one cent, while platinum rose 0.3% and palladium rallied 1.8%

At the Comex close: February gold dipped by 70 cents to $1,683.20; March silver gained one cent to $31.54; April platinum added $4.20, to $1,694.10; and March palladium rose $13.10 to $726.45 an ounce.

Thomson Reuters GFMS, a leading global metals consultancy, is bullish on gold in 2013. Presenting its Gold Survey 2012 Update Two in Toronto today, GFMS forecasts an average gold price of $1,847 this year, 10.4% higher than 2012's record-high average of $1,669. Official sector purchases by central banks are projected to be slightly higher than 2012, when they rose by 17.4% to a 50-year high. Demand from physical gold-bar investment is seen rising by 8.5% and jewelry demand falling by 4.2%, with an over demand increase of 3.6% in the first half of 2013. GFMS expects the environment for gold investment to remain supportive because of monetary easing in the developed world, continuing sovereign debt problems and credit downgrades, rising long-term inflation fears, and negative real interest rates in many nations.