Daily Market Update 12/02/11

GOLD

At 11am PDT, gold is trading at $1,748.90, up $5.20 per ounce on normal weekend type volume. Gold traded in a narrow $24 price range from $1,740 to $1,764 as news reports from Europe on a possible “fiscal compact” was shared by Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and Mario Draghi. It was announced today that the central bank of Korea purchased another 15 metric tonnes of gold in November in addition to the 25 tonnes purchased earlier this year.

SILVER

Silver is having a difficult time staying above $33 per ounce. It hit $33.80 per ounce early this morning before we saw sizeable selling, driving the market price back to $32.25. At 11am PDT, silver is trading at $32.60 down $0.15 per ounce from yesterday, on light weekend volume. Silver to Gold Ratio is 53.65 to 1.

The U.S. Labor Department reported today that the U.S. unemployment rate fell sharply in November, to 8.6%. The lowest level since March 2009, as employers added 120,000 jobs in the month, compared with 100,000 in October.