Daily Gold Update

Source: Dana Samuelson, American Gold Exchange

Austin, TX— Gold, silver, platinum and palladium all gained today in the New York session. The dollar fell against the Japanese yen and the euro following Japan�s confirmation that the Bank of Japan would indeed launch an open-ended commitment to quantitative easing. Under their current program the Bank of Japan is buying approximately 8.4 trillion yen in assets per month through the end of 2013. Under the newly announced program beginning in 2014 the Bank of Japan will buy approximately 10 trillion yen in assets per month, and will maintain this balance beyond 2014. This move was larger and more aggressive than many analysts had anticipated. Prime Minister Abe is determined to reinflate the Japanese economy by increasing their rate of inflation to their stated 2% target and, in doing so, end years of Japanese deflation.

In U.S. economic news, the Richmond Fed�s index of manufacturing activity declined from -5 to -12 in January, signaling a increase in economic contraction in the region since December�s report. New orders, shipments and employment all contracted further into the negative territory. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing housing fell 1% in December as well.

February gold gained $6.20, or 0.4%, closing the New York session at $1,693.20, its highest close in a month. March silver gained $0.25, or 0.8%, closing at $32.18. April platinum gained $24.50, or 1.5%, closing at $1,698.50 per ounce and surpassing the gold price again. March palladium also gained, closing the session at $729.90, up $7.15, or 1%.

Gold shrugged off news that India was raising the import duty on gold dore bars from 2% to 5%. Dore is an alloy of gold and silver that accounts for approximately 12% of India�s annual imports of gold. This was the second import duty hike this week. Yesterday the Indian government raised the import tax on refined gold from 4 percent to 6 percent in an effort to curb gold imports. The Indian government is battling a record high current account deficit and is raising rates in an effort to shift money from flowing into gold, an asset the government considers to be unproductive to the Indian economy. Markets have anticipated these import hikes and some analysts believe these hikes will have minimal overall impact on Indian gold imports over time due to India�s long tradition of giving gold for weddings and other festivals.