Gold and silver prices didn’t do much yesterday as gold price slightly declined and silver moderately rose. The big news for bullion came after the market closed: the minutes of the last FOMC meeting. According to the minutes, it seems that the odds of the Fed providing an additional stimulus plan are less likely. Furthermore, there are certain conditions in which the Fed may alter its pledge to keep rates low until late 2014, depending on the progress of the U.S economy. Following this news major commodities prices sharply fell including gold and silver prices. During yesterday’s trading crude oil prices also declined while natural gas prices changed direction and sharply rose. The Euro declined against the U.S. dollar.
Here is a summary of the changes in precious metals and energy commodities for April 3rd, 2012:
Precious Metals:
Gold price changed direction and slipped after it had increased during the past two consecutive business days, this time by 0.46% to $1,672.0; Silver price on the other hand rose by 0.5% and reached $33.27. During April, gold edged up by 0.1% and silver rose by 2.4%.
The Euro/USD also slipped yesterday by 0.65% to 1.3233; furthermore, the U.S Dollar also appreciated against other exchange rates such as the Aussie dollar.
Oil and Gas:
WTI price also declined by 1.16% to $104.01 per barrel; Brent oil also decreased by 0.49% to $124.98 per barrel;
Due to these changes, the difference between Brent and WTI oil prices expanded to $20.97/bbl. During the month, WTI rose by 0.96% and Brent oil by 0.9%.
The Henry Hub future (May delivery) increased by 1.86% to $2.19/mmbtu; the Henry Hub spot price sharply rose to $1.93/mmbtu; the difference between the spot and future reached $0.26/mmbtu, i.e. Contango.
A Summary of Changes for April 3rd:
The table below includes: closing prices, daily percent changes, and daily changes:
For further reading: