daytrades april 18 pre-market, page-7

Great wrap this morning HLL thanks Aksier & Morning All,






Commodities Reports


NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Gold and silver pushed further into record territory Friday as renewed fears of inflation and sovereign debt default spurred investment demand for the safe-harbor assets.

The thinly traded April-delivery contract settled up 0.9%, or $13.60, at $1,485.30 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The April contract set an intra-day record of $1,487.00.

The most actively traded contract, for June delivery, ended up 0.9%, or $13.60, at $1,486.00 per troy ounce after setting a record $1,488.60.

Investors flocked to the safety of gold and silver after monthly data showed China's consumer price index rose 5.4% in March, compared to a year earlier, outpacing forecasts of a 5.3% rise.

"You're not in a late phase of inflation, you're in an early phase," with rates likely to pick up in the future, said Ira Epstein, director of the Ira Epstein division of the Linn Group.

The world's second largest gold buyer, after India, China has struggled to curb inflation despite aggressively tightening its monetary policy in the past six months. This has forced many investors to seek a safe-harbor for their wealth in gold and silver, which are seen as stores of value.

U.S. consumer prices also rose in March, with the seasonally adjusted consumer price index up 0.5% from February and up 2.7% from March last year, the highest level since December 2009. The increase highlights the influence of higher commodity prices on headline inflation, as crude oil, grains and metal prices have swelled to records in recent months.

However, underlying inflation, which excludes energy and food prices that can be volatile, rose by only 0.1% in March from February.

The tame core inflation gives the Federal Reserve latitude to keep its low interest rate policies in place, though many market participants worry this approach will raise long-term inflation and devalue the dollar.

"Investors are frustrated with U.S. monetary policy. They're saying the heck with the dollar, the heck with currencies and they're buying metals," Epstein said.

Gold and silver traders also kept a wary eye on Europe, where credit rating agency Moody's Investor Services Inc. downgraded Irish debt by two notches to Baa-3, one level before junk status.

"That's one more point about those sovereign debt issues that's underpinning higher prices," said Dave Meger, director of metals trading with Vision Financial Markets.

The threats of a government debt default by a euro-zone state have been driving gold and silver prices higher over the past year, as investors have sought to refuge from the risk of holding paper currencies.

Friday's surge in investor fears also catapulted silver prices to record highs as buyers sought a cheaper alternative to gold.

Silver for April delivery soared 2.1%, or 90.5 cents, settle at $42.566 per troy ounce. The contract had reached an intra-day high of $42.790, falling short of the $50.360 record set Jan 18, 1980 when the Hunt Brothers of Texas attempted to corner the market.

The most active silver contract, for May delivery, settled up 2.2%, or 90.7 cents, at $42.571 per troy ounce. The May contract set an intra-day record of $42.865, outpacing the 1980 record of $41.50.

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