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Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IngotWeTrust who wrote (25979)	1/12/1999 9:46:00 AM
From: Alex	Respond to of 116915

1/12/99 - LBMA: Gold, Silver Activity Sees Modest Recovery in December <Picture> London-Jan. 12-FWN--Activity levels in gold and silver staged modest recoveries from November"s depressed levels, but were still below strong levels seen end-1997, the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) said today. The average daily volume of gold transferred and value increased from the previous month by roughly 10%, to 30.4 million ounces with a value of $8.9 billion. This was despite a fall in the average price from $294.121 to $291.689. The number of transfers increased by only 3% to 947, remaining below 1,000 for the second month in a row. Turnover in silver recovered more strongly than gold, although it was still running at roughly half the high levels seen a year ago. Silver ounces transferred rose back above 200 million ounces to 202.2, an increase of nearly 20% over the previous month. Value recovered to $1.0 billion, although, like gold, the average silver price of $4.8756 was lower than November"s, the LBMA said. The number of silver transfers again totaled under 400 at 389. The LBMA said there was little positive news for gold over the course of the month. It staged only one serious rally in the first week of trading, but repeated failure to sustain levels above $295.00 discouraged market sentiment. Air strikes over Iraq exerted only a mildly positive influence. Although not strictly new information, a report that Switzerland"s parliament had approved a constitutional amendment allowing the removal of the gold backing of the Swiss franc was still taken as a bearish signal. The market fell below $290 and reached its lowest fix on the Dec. 23 at $285.80 in thin, pre-holiday trading conditions. It recovered slightly for a closing fix of $287.45 on Dec. 31, 1998. Silver, had a more volatile December, the LBMA said. Unlike gold, it hit its lows early in the month, with a low fix of $4.69 on Dec. 3. Along with gold, it staged a mid- month rally and traded above $5.00. Tightness in short-term lease rates encouraged market sentiment, and after forming a base in the $4.90s, silver recovered to finish the month back above $5.00. Despite potentially positive news in the market, nothing proved sufficient to spark a serious metals rally, the LBMA said. Unable to test $300, gold drifted back to finish the month in the low $290s, almost exactly where it had been at the start. Based on the fixings, silver"s range from high to low was less than half of that of the previous month, the LBMA said. It staged one brief rally on its own initiative, reaching a high fix of $5.1275 on Nov. 13, but was unable to build on gains due to concern that any economic slowdown could lead to declining industrial demand for silver. It fell back through the $5.00 level, finishing the month in the low $4.90s.