Gold Prices Hit 15-Week Low 'Despite' Greek Crisis, 'Bull Market Coming' Says BAML

EDGWARE (Scrap Monster): Gold prices fell to 15-week lows in London trade Thursday, briefly slipping near $1160 per ounce as world stock markets dropped, the Greek government was challenged over the validity of this coming weekend's 'austerity' referendum, and new data showed the US jobs market slowing in June.

Major government bond prices fell outside the US and UK, nudging 10-year German Bund yields up to 0.84% – a 7-month high when first reach in June.

Gold prices fell against the Dollar for the 8th session in nine, but recovered against the volatile Euro to remain "stuck to €1050 like a limpet" according to ICBC Standard Bank's trading desk in London.

"Physical buying [from Asian wholesalers] is around, but very light given summer holidays and Ramadan."

The US economy added only 223,000 jobs in June, the Labor Department said Thursday, missing analysts' consensus forecasts for the third time this year.

Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis meantime said he will quit the "radical left" Syriza government if Greek voters don't back his demands for foreign creditor nations to accept a debt restructuring in Sunday's referendum – itself called "unconstitutional" and "unclear" by the Athens Bar Association of lawyers today.

Varoufakis says Euro membership is not up for discussion, but "The question of the referendum is whether they want to be with the Euro," said European Central Bank member Josef Bonnici, head of Malta's central bank.

Blaming Syriza for the current crisis, Greece needs "comprehensive" debt relief from its Eurozone partners, fellow creditor the International Monetary Fund said today, calling for maturities to be doubled from 20 to 40 years with €60bn in new funds required over the next 3 years.

"[Syriza's prime minister] Tsipras has turned this country into North Korea," the Wall Street Journal quotes one 83-year-old lining up to try and withdraw cash from an ATM in Athens.

"I can't believe at this age I have to line up to get rationed."

"Despite the prevailing uncertainties on the future of Greece and its impact for the Eurozone," says Germany's Commerzbank in a note, "gold still continues its downward trend."

"Participants [are] keen to sell the relatively short-lived rallies," says Swiss refiner MKS's trading team.

"Interest rate expectations in the US will continue to weigh on the metals."

"We are on the cusp of a gold bull market," reckons a new note from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, forecasting a rise to $1300 per year in 2016.

"But there is no immediate trigger for prices to rise...Ongoing uncertainty emanating from Greece [means] rising risk aversion is bullish, [but] this may be offset by a stronger Dollar."

Courtesy: www.bullionvault.com