Silvermex Resources (GGCRF)

[the cork]

DJ Silver 32.94, Gold 1663.30, Futures Flat, Seeking Cues From Dollar
Mar 19, 2012 By Tatyana Shumsky Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

--Comex April gold slips 20c to $1,665.60/oz
--Traders eye currencies, technical indicators
--Platinum continues to trade above gold

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Gold futures were near unchanged Monday as traders sought clues from the currency market and technical indicators amid a quiet trading day.

The most actively traded contract, for April delivery, was recently trading 20 cents lower at $1,655.60 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold traders looked to currency markets for cues. Gold is denominated in dollars, so shifts in the value of the greenback versus other currencies can affect demand for gold among investors holding those currencies as the metal appears more or less expensive to these market participants.

The ICE Dollar index was recently near flat at 79.797, from 79.786 late Friday in New York.

"Currency traders have not been as bullish about the U.S. Dollar since 1999," noted Jon Nadler, senior metals analyst Kitco Metals Inc. "That kind of pro-dollar speculative positioning and confidence level was last seen 13 years ago, at the beginning of what turned out to be a three-year rally in the U.S. currency," he added.

Gold market participants are also looking at technical indicators for signs of where gold prices will next head. Gold closed below its 200-day moving average Friday, a bearish sign for the precious metals market.

"Should gold close below 1640, we would concede defeat," said Barclays Capital, adding that "physical demand has been quiet, with only sharp price corrections triggering interest."

Gold also lost ground to platinum futures. Platinum prices overtook those of gold last week, after nearly seven months where platinum futures traded well below their yellow cousin. Platinum is rarer than gold and is more expensive to produce. However, the metal is widely used in auto catalysts and oil refining and worries about the economy had weighed on traders' expectations of demand for the white metal.

Nymex platinum futures for April delivery, the most active contract, were recently up 50 cents to $1,676.00 a troy ounce.

-By Tatyana Shumsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3095; [e-mail]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-19-12 0918ET
Click here to find out more!

http://news.tradingcharts.com/futures/1/5/175573451.html