Is gold making a comeback? Did it ever go away?FEBRUARY 11,...

Is gold making a comeback? Did it ever go away?

FEBRUARY 11, 2010, 1:07 P.M. ET
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold Futures Rise Amid Greece Uncertainty.

By Matt Whittaker

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES


NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Gold futures rallied to near $1,100 midday Thursday as some safe-haven buying returned to the metal and uncertainty lingered about Greek finances even as euro-zone leaders were hashing out a support plan.

In recent trading, April gold was up $16.40, or 1.5%, at $1,092.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract reached as high as $1,095.90.

It is notable that gold is moving higher even though the U.S. dollar is also gaining, with the Dollar Index up 0.107 point, or 0.1%, at 80.135 points. U.S. stocks and oil were also up as markets digested the latest developments regarding Greece.

Gold and the dollar have generally moved in opposing directions amid ebbs and flows in risk appetite, with participants fleeing gold--which has been trading as a risk play over the past few months instead of in its more traditional role as a safe haven--for the perceived safety of the dollar when their tolerance for riskier assets falls.

Also, dollar gains or losses tend to move the gold price in the opposite direction since moves in the greenback make dollar-denominated gold more or less expensive for purchasers using other currencies.

Now, the metal to a certain extent is divorcing itself from the influence of the dollar amid a return of some safe-haven buying while uncertainty lingers on Greece's sovereign debt issues, said Bill O'Neill, a principal with LOGIC Advisors.

"Ultimately, gold will prove itself very attractive on that basis," he says.

The dollar gained against the euro as euro-zone countries pledged support for the flailing Greek economy, but few details were forthcoming.

There is some disconnect between how the currency markets and gold are taking the news of help for Greece, notes Jim Steel, senior vice president and metals analyst with HSBC.

In the short term, some are moving into gold as a safe-haven buy amid the uncertainty swirling around the Greece issue, he says. But longer term, the background of sovereign risk will still benefit gold as a risk play.

As gold gained, pre-placed buy orders were triggered as prices moved above the $1,080 area, said Craig Ross, vice president of ApexFutures.com.

There is also some spillover buying from other metals such as copper--which is up nearly 5%--as participants buy the gold as part of a basket of metals, Ross said.

Options related buying is also helping gold as it approaches $1,100. Options traders are hedging around that area ahead of the long U.S. holiday weekend, said George Gero, vice president with RBC Capital Markets Global Futures. U.S. markets are closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.


-By Matt Whittaker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2139; [email protected]





CRK certainly proved it's volatility recently. Did someone mention that the top few shareholders own 70% of the stock? No wonder the price varies so wildly when someone gets the jitters.

The rebound is due in no small part to existing holders maintaining the faith and, staying on target.

Stay on target!

Thankfully it's only a few PIGS on our tail and not Darth Vader.

Luck to all.