Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures closed higher on Wednesday, while copper dropped nearly 3% as investors retreated from the industrial metal on concerns that Chinese demand is waning as stockpiles build. Gold for April delivery rose $2.40, or 0.2%, at $1,429.60 an ounce by the close of floor trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver tracked gold higher, with the May contract gaining 39 cents, or 1.1%, to close at $36.05 an ounce. Gold was supported by renewed worries about Europe�s debt problems after Portugal had to offer higher yields to lure investors to its bonds Wednesday.

But analysts said precious metals gains are likely to be limited until investors get more information on civil strife roiling Libya and other nearby oil-producing nations, a regional upheaval that�s sent oil and gold higher since late January. �We�ve hit a bit of a resistance level. The Egyptian crisis and then the Libyan crisis gave fuel to gold, to a bit of a safe haven. The market has reached a pretty good level,� Rich Ilczyszyn, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock said. �Right now it seems we�ve hit a bit of a wall with a lot of these commodities,� he added. See full story.