NWM Mining Corp fka NWMMF

[the cork]

DJ PRECIOUS METALS: Gold 1653.80, Silver 31.63, Steady As Traders Mull Bernanke, India
Apr 10, 2012 By Tatyana Shumsky Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

--Comex June gold near steady at $1,644.20/oz
--Bernanke avoids commenting on monetary policy in Atlanta speech Monday evening
--Indian jewelers stream back into the global bullion market, boosting gold

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Gold futures held near steady as investors weighed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's silence on monetary policy against continued support from India's jewelry sector as gold buyers there return from a 20-day strike.

The most-actively traded contract, for June delivery, was recently up 30 cents at $1,644.20 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Bernanke avoided making any comments on monetary policy in his prepared remarks to the annual Financial Markets Conference in Atlanta on Monday evening. The remarks came just days after a disappointing U.S. employment report cast doubt on the strength of the U.S. economic recovery. Gold traders were looking for Bernanke to hint at potential ways to boost the economy, such as another round of monetary stimulus.

"The most-important thing that stuck out in my mind was that he said nothing about the current economic situation," said Jason Schenker, president of Prestige Economics. Schenker said he expects to see high market volatility around the next Fed meeting, scheduled for April 25.

Prior rounds of quantitative easing have been a boost for gold prices, as worries about future inflation and the potential for monetary stimulus to weaken the dollar boosted the allure of hard assets such as gold.

Gold also continues to benefit from physical demand for bullion as jewelers in India reopen their stores. Indian jewelers ended a 20-day strike last week, after industry leaders met with the country's Finance minister to discuss rolling back a recent increase on gold import taxes and a new tax on gold-jewelry sales.

However, jewelers have said the strike could resume if the tax rollback doesn't materialize by May 11.

"With the country in the peak of its gold-purchasing wedding season, we suspect that neither side wants a return to a strike, as Indian gold imports are already down by a third so far this year, undoubtedly not helping either side," Edward Meir, senior commodities analyst with INTL FCStone, said in a note to clients.

-By Tatyana Shumsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3095; [e-mail]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-10-12 1007ET

http://news.tradingcharts.com/futures/3/7/176735973.html