Gold Silver Copper Weekly News Analisys 2-6 Dec

Gold futures rose in thin trade on Friday, but prices still set to record worst monthly loss in five months on fears the Federal Reserve will begin to taper the bond purchase program on one of the next few meetings.

Precious metal prices lost 5.4 % in November, the biggest monthly decline since June, as solid U.S. economic data underlined expectations the Fed will begin to limit the stimulus.


The price of Gold has been largely track the shifting expectations of whether the Fed will begin unwinding $85 billion asset purchase program by the end of the month this year. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, Gold futures for February delivery rose 1.01 % on Friday to finish the week at USD1, 250.40 a troy ounce.

Comex trading floor remained closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the U.S. The February contract ended Wednesday's session down 0.29 % to settle at $1,237.90 a troy ounce . Gold futures were likely to find support at $1,226.40 a troy ounce, the low of November 25 and resistance at $1,258.20, the high of November 26.

In this week, the Comex Gold prices rose 0.5 %, amid indications of increased demand from China and as investors returned to the market to seek cheap valuations after prices fell to a four and a half months earlier this week.

Sentiment is bearish on the precious metal remains intact after the minutes of the October meeting of the Fed say the central bank could start scaling back its asset purchase program $85 billion a month in " the coming months " if the economy continues to improve as expected.

In the week ahead, investors will be focused on the U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls report Friday to November. The Fed, which is holding its next meeting on December 17 to 18, said the timing of tapering depends on the health of the labor and housing markets.

Precious metal prices fell by around 26 % this year, heading for the first annual loss in 13 years. Elsewhere on the Comex, Silver for March delivery settled 1.78 % higher on Friday to close the week at $20.03 a troy ounce, as a weaker dollar and some bargain - buying support.

Comex silver prices ended the session down 1.06 % Wednesday at $19.68 a troy ounce. The price of silver fell to a three and a half months of $19.62 on 25 November. March Silver futures edged up 0.84 % on the week, but still lost 8.8 % in November, the worst monthly performance since June 2013. Meanwhile, Copper for March delivery rose 0.45 % on Friday to close the week at $3.205 pound, amid expectations of rising demand from top consumer China.

On Wednesday, Copper futures slipped 0.89 % to settle at $3.190 a pound. In this week, Comex Copper prices fell 0.28 %, bringing the monthly loss to 2.1 % in November.

Data released on Sunday showed that Chinese purchasing managers manufacturing index remained stable at a high 18 - 51.4 months in November, compared with forecasts for a decline to 51.1.

Copper traders often use manufacturing numbers as an indicator for copper demand growth in the future, as an industrial metal is widely used by the sector. China is the world's largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40 % of world consumption last year.