All that Glitters: Gold and Silver Prices Soar to an All-Time High

By: EW News Desk Team   Date: 7 March 2011

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EW News Desk Team

Always on the look out for the latest news to monitor the state of the world economy.

EconomyWatch, News Desk Team

 

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07 March 2011

Gold prices peaked at $1,440.32 per ounce on Wednesday, while silver struck a 30-year high of $35.36 on Friday. Investors who foresaw gold – and more recently, silver as top investment bets to eclipse crude oil were right on the money. But did they anticipate the spike in the commodity prices off the back of the crisis in Libya?

The Bangkok Post reported: 

Gold peaked at $1,440.32 per ounce on Wednesday, while silver struck a 30-year high of $35.36 on Friday.

On the London Bullion Market, gold closed the week at $1,427, up from $1,402.50 a week earlier. Silver closed at $34.43, up from $32.54. On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum climbed to $1,828 an ounce from $1,791 and palladium rose to $811 from $785.

Oil on the other hand, surged to $104.32 on Friday as violence escalated in Libya.

New York crude crossed $104 per barrel to reach the highest level for 30 months as the African nation was forced to slash exports. Shukri Ghanem , head of Libya's National Oil Corporation, reported on Thursday that oil production had been halved.

“Geopolitics and the uncertainty and volatility associated with it continues to set the tone for oil price dynamics,” Barclays Capital analyst Sudakshina Unnikrishnan said. “Unrest in the MENA [Middle East and North Africa] region continues apace, with Libya effectively remaining out of the oil market; while the replacement of the lost Libyan barrels is eating into spare capacity, rampant demand growth is adding further pressure.”

"It seems likely that soon there will be no oil exports at all from Libya, a loss of 1.4 million barrels per day to the global markets, and a particular concern to refiners in Italy and elsewhere in Europe," said said Deutsche Bank analyst Adam Sieminski.


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