Gold and Silver Fall on Rejected Greece Deal

NEW YORK (Feb 10) Gold and silver were moving lower Friday morning as hopes proved short-lived that Greek government leaders had agreed on a package of additional austerity measures that met the requirements of eurozone finance ministers.

Spot gold was 0.64% lower at 10:57 a.m., bid at $1,718 with an ask price of $1,719. Spot gold traded as high as $1,721.20 and as low as $1,703.40. The London afternoon fixed-reference price came in at $1,711.50 — a sharp $36.50 an ounce lower than Thursday’s price fix, according to Kitco market data.

Spot silver was showing a 0.8% loss, bid at $33.63 with an ask price of $33.73. The morning high as of this writing was $33.78, and the low was $33.09. Friday’s reference price was set at $33.55 in the London a.m., 25 cents an ounce below Thursday’s reference price fix.

Greek government leaders may have thought they had a deal, but Greece’s eurozone paymasters shot down that belief, sending the proposal back to Greece, saying Greece must pass the austerity measures into law and identify 325 million euros ($429 million) in additional spending cuts before eurozone finance ministers will agree to release a second $172 billion round of emergency funding.

Gold bullion prices were heading for their second straight weekly decline as prices drifted toward the $1,700-an-ounce level in London morning trading Friday, BullionVault reports in its London Gold Market report. Spot market gold prices were down 1.2% for the week at Friday lunchtime in London.

“Gains in the U.S. dollar and consistent disappointment from the European Union regarding the Greece debt deal are curbing any gains in gold,” commented Pradeep Unni, senior analyst at commodity brokerage Richcomm Global Services in Dubai. “People are just throwing in the towel because we didn’t see a rally,” added Afshin Nabavi, senior vice president at Swiss precious-metals refiner MKS.