Uncertainty surrounding the U.S. budget and debt ceiling lure some investors back
Bullion metal prices ended higher for first time in four sessions on Wednesday, 25 September 2013 at Comex. Prices put on a late-morning surge and held those gains into the close Wednesday, to finish solidly higher in the day. Uncertainty surrounding the U.S. budget and debt ceiling lured some investors back to the precious metal.
December gold ended higher by $19.9 (1.9%) at $1336.2 per ounce in morning action on Wednesday.
December silver ended higher by 30 cents or 1.3% of $21.89 per ounce.
Silver futures prices showed little to no reaction to news Wednesday around midday that the U.S. government (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) closed its years-long probe into manipulation of the silver futures market, saying it had no hard evidence that such had occurred.
U.S. economic data Wednesday was slightly on the stronger side of expectations, with the advance report on durable goods up slightly, and new residential home sales at a multi-month high.
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The U.S. budget and debt ceiling issues are looming and will be debated by the U.S. Congress and the Obama administration the next few weeks. This will become a front-burner matter for the market place, and one that could be significantly bearish for most markets, as there is already talk the U.S. government could shut down for a short time.
On the economic front at Wall Street today, durable orders increased 0.1% after declining a downwardly revised 8.1% in July. The consensus estimate called for a 0.5% increase. Excluding transportation, durable orders declined 0.1% (+0.9% consensus) following an upwardly revised decline of 0.5% for July. Notwithstanding the headline disappointment, there were some encouraging elements to the report like the 0.9% increase in new orders for machinery, the 2.4% jump in new orders for motor vehicles and parts, and positive business investment data.
New home sales managed a modest rebound in August. Sales rose from a downwardly revised 390,000 in July to 421,000 in August. The consensus expected new home sales to increase to 415,000. Even after the uptick, sales were at their second lowest level since December 2012. Separately, the MBA Mortgage Index rose 5.5%, posting its second consecutive increase.
At the MCX, gold prices for December delivery closed higher by Rs 193 (0.65%) at Rs 29,874 per ten grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 29,980 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 29,591 per 10 grams during the day's trading.
At the MCX, silver prices for December delivery closed higher by Rs 19 (0.04%) at Rs 49,171/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 49,225/Kg and rose to a high of Rs 49,550/Kg during the day's trading.
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