Daily Market Report 02/07/12

GOLD

The buyers are back. Gold opened higher in the U.S. in aftermarket trading and kept on rallying in Asia and Europe, reaching $1,750 after touching a 1 ½ week low of $1,711.29 yesterday. At 11am PST, Gold is up $25.40 from yesterday’s close, trading at $1,748.10 per ounce with excellent volume.

Major bullion bank HSBC said it was keeping its 2012 average gold forecast at $1,850 an ounce due to accommodative global monetary policies and investor jitters about financial markets.

On Monday, Greece delayed its decision on whether to accept the terms of a new bailout for yet another day. Failure to strike a deal could push Greece into a chaotic debt default.            

SILVER

Taking its lead from Gold, silver broke through the $34 price barrier and kept on going. At 11am PDT, Silver is trading at $34.35 per ounce, up $0.55 on heavy volume.

Silver is as efficient as a leading chemotherapy drug in treating cancer and may even have fewer side effects, a new study has revealed. Results from the study at the University of Leeds, show that particular silver compounds are as toxic to cancer cells as the platinum-based drug Cisplatin, which is widely used to treat a range of cancers.

PLATINUM

Reports that Platinum output in South Africa is likely to end up lower than forecast this year due to snowballing labor and safety stoppages, supporting metal prices but boosting costs for producers have driven up the spot price. Platinum is trading at $1,648 per ounce at 11am PDT, up $32 per ounce today.