GOLD & SILVER

KUALA LUMPUR The price of gold as at 5pm stood at RM152.09 per gramme, down RM2.07 from RM154.16 as at 5pm on Tuesday. – Bernama NEW YORK Gold fell 1% in active trade o n Tuesday, as the euro’s slide on worries over Spain’s debt prompted investors to sell the precious metal along with other dollar-sensitive commodities.

Trading volume in US futures more than doubled its 30-day average, boosted by active position rolling from the June to August contracts before June delivery period starts as US traders returned after Monday’s Memorial Day holiday.

US gold futures for June delivery settled down US$20.20 at US$1,548.70. Volume topped 450,000 lots, preliminary Reuters data showed, near a 2012 high of 470,000 contracts traded on Jan 26. – Reuters LONDON Spot gold was down 1.4% at US$1,551.50 an ounce by 2:42pm EDT (1842 GMT) on Tuesday. – Reuters NEW YORK Silver for July delivery fell on Tuesday, shedding 2% or 59.5 cents to settle at US$27.791 an ounce. – AP rekindled fears about Europe’s deepening debt crisis.

Copper initially climbed to a one week high, gaining with other risk asset markets like crude oil and equities on the prospect of further economic stimulus in top metals consumer China. But gains in copper and oil were erased later in the day after Egan-Jones downgraded Spain’s rating due to concerns about the health of its banking sector.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange hit an early-session peak at US$7,765 per tonne, before shedding US$19 to close at US$7,670. – Reuters rose on optimism about polls showing leads for Greek political parties in favour of austerity and a report that China’s biggest banks have accelerated lending.

Also supportive for oil were revived concerns about supply disruptions because Iran’s dispute with the West over Tehran’s nuclear program remains unresolved.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July crude fell 10 cents, or 0.11%, to settle at US$90.76 a barrel, having traded from US$90.25 to US$92.21. – Reuters