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Market pulse for several metals and energy: Mangal Keshav

Gold holdings of SPDR gold trust, the largest ETF backed by the precious metal, increased to 1,222.16 tons, as on March 20.

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Mangal Keshav Mumbai
Last Updated : Mar 21 2013 | 12:08 PM IST
Gold prices remained under selling pressure & declined, after the US Federal Reserve issued its latest policy statement, repeating its accommodative stance while extending it to another 2-years, but gains in the euro provided support for the precious metal.

Gold holdings of SPDR gold trust, the largest ETF backed by the precious metal, increased to 1,222.16 tons, as on March 20.

Silver holdings of ishares silver trust, the largest ETF backed by the metal, declined to 10,583.36 tons, as on March 20.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six rival currencies, traded at 82.827 in recent action, little moved from 82.893 in late trading on Tuesday.

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The US dollar rallied against the yen on Wednesday, after a decision by the Federal Reserve to continue its aggressive monetary easing fueled optimism about the US economic recovery.

The euro rebounded from a 4-month low against the dollar as fears about a financial meltdown in Cyprus eased, with the small island country pleading for a new loan from Russia.

The Fed said it will continue to buy $85bn in mortgage and Treasury bonds per month despite growing concerns about the risks the purchases could pose. It said unemployment remains too high and fiscal policy has become somewhat
"more restrictive," likely referring to the government's hefty spending cuts.

Copper & other metal futures regained strength, as investors awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later in the day and developments surrounding a bailout deal for Cyprus.

Copper exports have slowed from the world’s top producer of the metal, as a port strike in northern Chile entered its fifth day.
Crude oil futures recovered a bit from previous day’s loss to close higher, fueled by higher refinery processing rates and despite concerns over signs of weak gasoline demand ahead of the peak driving season.

Crude oil stocks fell by 1.3mn barrels, gasoline stocks fell 1.476mn barrels & distillate stocks (heating oil/diesel) fell 672,000 barrels, as per EIA. Stocks at Cushing, Okla., the delivery point for the NYMEX crude oil contract, dropped by
286,000 barrels in the week to their lowest level in three months, as per EIA.

Natural gas inventories are expected to decline by 72-75bn cubic feet, actual data will be released by EIA later in the day.

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First Published: Mar 21 2013 | 12:05 PM IST

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