Gold prices added $2.20 as markets opened after a news filled weekend. Tensions continue to rise in Palestine as Israel begins its ground attack with both sides reporting rising deaths. Gold recovered after its decline last week as traders decided not to support the metal as they moved to the safety of the Japanese yen and pushed equities to higher record highs. Gold is trading at 1311.60. In other metals silver took its cues from gold to trade at 20.958 adding 72 points while platinum gained $1.75 to trade at 1494.45.
The markets will remain focused on global tensions with little in the way of economic data due this week; news flow will be the controlling market force this week. News from the Associate Press said that the U.N. Security Council emerged from an emergency session late Sunday on the worsening situation in Gaza expressing “serious concern” about the rising civilian death toll and demanding an immediate end to the fighting. The council met at the request of Jordan, which proposed a more strongly worded draft resolution for consideration. The resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, expressed “grave concern” at the high number of civilians killed in Gaza, including children, and called for an immediate cease-fire, “including the withdrawal of Israeli occupying forces from the Gaza Strip.” The first major ground battle in two weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting on Sunday killed at least 65 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers and forced thousands of terrified Palestinian civilians to flee their neighborhoods.
Russia continues to defying attitude as Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin stepped out of the meeting briefly and complained to reporters that the council had been summoned to meet without a specific proposal to discuss. “Why have this meeting?” Churkin asked. “The Security Council is put in a very awkward position. Obviously, nothing is going to come out of it.” Russia remains in the headlines after President Obama added more sanctions last week but headlines that pro-Russia separatist shot down a Malaysian airline killing close to 300 innocent passengers using a Russian supplied missile leaving President Putin in an awkward situation.
Base metals are trading in the red with copper plunging at the end of last week and is trading at 3.1900 this morning. London copper held near its lowest in three weeks this morning hemmed in by nagging worries over China’s property sector and a big Chinese stock build that highlighted an expected market surplus in the second half. The head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Friday that financial markets were “perhaps too upbeat” because high unemployment and high debt in Europe could drag down investment and hurt future growth prospects. Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 28.9 percent from last Friday.
