Daily Market Report 12/19/12

GOLD

Gold has been on the defensive most of the morning, re-testing yesterday’s low of $1,660 and holding right now. In Asia this morning, there was sizeable physical Gold bargain buying coming from India. At 11am PDT today, Gold is trading at $1,669 per ounce, virtually unchanged from yesterday’s price. Trading volume is considered high. 

Gartman Blames China for Sell-off in Gold

Dennis Gartman, an economist and editor of the Gartman Letters, blamed the fall in Gold on the cancellation of soybean contracts by the Chinese, which was sufficient to suggest that China’s economy is not quite as good as had been expected. “Although that cancellation might just be nothing more than the Chinese government playing games with the grain market, knowing full well that its cancellation would send prices lower allowing them to buy soybeans cheaper later. Nevertheless, the cancellation weighed heavily upon commodities generally and upon the Gold market,” Gartman said.

SILVER

Silver is now down for five days in a row, testing the $31 per ounce support area this morning. At 11am PDT today, Silver is down $0.35, trading at $31.18 per ounce on a heavy volume of contracts.