CORRECTION: Singapore Exchange Outage Had No Effect on ICE

(Kitco News) – On Wednesday, Kitco News erroneously reported a link between the Intercontinental Exchange and the Singapore stock exchange, which experienced a three and half hour delay at the start of the session.

Gold Steady-Weak on Chart Consolidation; U.S. Jobs Report on Deck

Gold prices ended the U.S. day session steady to slightly lower Thursday, on some technical chart consolidation. After an early-morning flurry of activity, gold trading settled down as market watchers began to focus on Friday’s U.S. employment report. February Comex gold was last down $0.50 at $1,208.20 an ounce. Spot gold was last down $0.90 at $1,209.30. March Comex silver last traded up $0.148 at $16.56 an ounce.

Nichols Sees ‘Strong Upward Pressure’ For Gold Whenever Prices Turn Higher

There is potential for a strong upward move in gold whenever the market reverses higher for the longer term, says Jeffrey Nichols, managing director of American Precious Metals Advisors and senior economic adviser to Rosland Capital. The metal has come under pressure on negative sentiment from bullion banks, hedge and commodity-focused funds and other institutional speculators, he says. “At the same time, a very much larger group of gold-market participants – numbering in the millions – have been acquiring huge quantities of physical gold and continue to do so even as bearish speculators drive the metal’s price lower,” Nichols says. “This group includes retail buyers of coins, small bars, and investment-grade jewelry in India, China and even Western markets. It includes Swiss gnomes and Arabian sheikhs, sovereign wealth funds and super-rich family offices, and a number of central banks that are under-weighted in gold and, at the same time, distrustful of the U.S. dollar. What’s more, clients should be cognizant of the fickle short-sightedness of today’s gold bears: They may be here today, pushing prices lower, but they will be gone tomorrow, when it looks like price momentum and their technical trading models have shifted gears from ‘reverse’ to ‘drive.’ Importantly, the accumulation of physical metal by the gold bulls is very long-term in nature and much of these holdings will never come back to the market. This suggests that as the gold market shifts direction, there exists the possibility of surprisingly strong upward pressure on the metal’s price.”

Indian Police Recover More Than 600 Ancient Coins After Investigation

(Kitco News) – India’s latest gold rush continues to expand as newspapers report that more ancient 250-year-old coins have been recovered from a small village in the southern part of the country.

ECB Won’t Buy Gold As Part Of QE Program

(Kitco News) – Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, has confirmed that the central bank will not buy gold as part of its asset-backed purchase program.

Gold Pops Briefly on Draghi Comments But Gains Don’t Hold

Gold prices pushed to their daily highs in the immediate aftermath of dovish comments from European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, during his monthly press conference following the ECB monthly meeting. The Euro currency rallied and the U.S. doll…

ECB Waiting For Early 2015 Before Deciding Future of QE

(Kitco News) – As expected, the European Central Bank will wait until early 2015 to decide whether or not to expand its quantitative-easing measures.

U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Fall By 17,000 To 297,000

First-time weekly jobless claims in the U.S. declined by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 297,000 during the week to Saturday, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The tally was in line with consensus expectations compiled by various news organizations…

Gold Weaker on Chart Consolidation, Bearish Outside Markets

(Kitco News) – Gold prices are modestly lower in early U.S. trading Thursday, on some chart consolidation and amid bearish “outside market” forces today—a stronger U.S. dollar and weaker crude oil prices.

ECB Leaves Rates Unchanged

(Kitco News) – The European Central Bank, as expected, left interest rates unchanged Thursday.