Gold and silver prices started the first week of 2012 with very sharp gains that were recorded in other commodities prices such as crude oil prices. The rest of the financial markets also recorded sharp gains including the U.S. stock markets; major currencies such as AUD and Euro also sharply appreciated against the U.S dollar. Here is a summary of the price developments of precious metals and energy commodities for January 3rd the first trading day of 2012:
Precious Metals Prices:
Gold price sharply rose on Tuesday by 2.15% to $1,600.50; Silver price also increased by 5.94% to reach $29.57. During December, gold price declined by 10.5%, and silver price by 14.90%.
The Euro/USD sharply rose on the first trading day of 2012 by 0.69% to 1.3051; the U.S Dollar depreciated against other currencies such as the Australian dollar.
Oil and Gas Prices:
WTI oil price changed direction again and sharply rose yesterday by 4.18% to $102.96 per barrel; Brent oil price also increased by 3.91% to $111.79 per barrel;
Due to these changes, the gap between Brent oil price and WTI oil prices slightly rose to $8.83/bbl. During December 2012, WTI oil price declined by 1.5%, and Brent oil price by 3.4%.
Natural gas Henry Hub future price (February delivery) fell by 0.33% to $2.98 /mmbtu. The Henry Hub spot price remained nearly unchanged at $3.00 /mmbtu; the difference between the spot and future price declined to -$0.02, i.e. Backwardation.
A Summary of Yesterday’s Prices Changes:
The table below includes: closing prices, daily percent change, and change in prices and indexes in USD (except for USD/CAD, in which the change is in Canadian dollar):
For further reading:
- Gold & Silver Prices – Daily Outlook January 3
- Gold and Silver Prices Outlook for January 2012
- Crude Oil Prices Yearly Report 2011-2012
- Where are Gold and Silver Headed in 2012?
Weekly Analysis and Outlook: