Gold continues to be supported by the real risk of EMU break up and further weakness in the euro, dollar and other currencies. Gold continues to consolidate below its 200 day moving average at $1,644/oz.
Technically, gold needs to close above the 200 DMA. Should this happen we could see quite significant short covering and more speculative elements on the COMEX may sense blood and come in on the long side in a more aggressive manner thereby propelling gold well above its recent trading range.
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Gold bullion prices inched up despite trading volume for US gold futures being on track to hit a 2012 low. Silver surged almost 3% and there was speculation that platinum’s rally may have made some of the silver shorts close some of their massive concentrated short positions.
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Russia continues to accumulate gold in its large foreign exchange reserves. The reserves include monetary gold, special drawing rights, reserve position at the IMF and foreign exchange.
Russia’s central bank increased its gold holdings to 30.1 million troy ounces as of August 1st, from 29.5 million troy ounces a month earlier, according to a statement published on its website today.
The gold reserves were valued at $48.7 billion at the end of last month, Bank of Russia said in a statement.
Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves rose to $510.0 billion in the week to August 10 from $507.4 billion a week earlier, central bank data showed last Thursday. Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves were $498.6 billion at the end of 2011.
This means that Russia now nearly has some 10% of its foreign exchange reserves in gold bullion.
