Daily Market Update 12/23/11

GOLD

At 11am PDT today Gold is trading at $1,606.80, up $1.50 per ounce. Worries about the debt turmoil in the eurozone kept precious metal market participants nervous. Trading volumes for all precious metals were light as financial markets wound down towards year-end.

The inflows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETF) has more than halved this year. Sales of products such as physical Gold bars and coins have been the primary source of gold demand. Gold investor interest seems to be maturing, so you’re not seeing such strong demand for Gold ETF. We’re seeing more interest in allocated storage of segregated accounts for gold bars and coins.

SILVER

Silver has been range-bound today, trading between $29 and $29.50 per ounce on very light trading. At 11am PDT Silver is up $0.10, trading at $29.17 per ounce.

Other Important news that affects precious metal prices:

U.S. Durable-goods rose 3.8% in November, the largest gain since July, the Commerce Department reported today.