Gold Prices Slip Back to 3-Week Lows as Stocks Rise, Oil Falls Despite Fresh Ukraine Tensions

LONDON (Scrap Monster):  Gold prices slipped Tuesday lunchtime in London, dropping back to Monday's 3-week lows while world stock markets rose after the long Easter holiday weekend.

Earlier recovering $10 per ounce from Monday's drop to $1282, gold prices recorded their lowest London PM Fix since April 3rd.

Eurozone equities rose sharply, with Germany's Dax index up 1.5%.

Silver dropped two-thirds of its 1.2% rebound from Easter Monday's new 11-week low at $19.23 per ounce, as crude oil slipped 0.5%.

Security chiefs in Kiev meantime accused Moscow of "violating" the Ukrainian de-escalation plan agreed last week with the US and EU, claiming that Russian special-ops personnel led the weekend's violence in the east.

Russia must "stop talking and start acting," said US vice-president Joe Biden at a press conference in the Ukraine capital today.

"Today's Asian open was incredibly quiet," says a note from one local bullion dealing desk, adding that Chinese traders "were sellers once again."

Gold prices dropped 0.4% on US futures yesterday, with Europe and the UK's Bank Holiday putting global trading volumes in Comex contracts at less than 60% of recent averages.

Gold prices in Shanghai today edged higher, but the metal went to a discount of $1.60 per ounce below London as the Chinese authorities pegged the Yuan currency at its lowest exchange rate to the Dollar in 14 months.

That extended the run of Shanghai discounts to 8 weeks.

Plans to open Beijing to gold bullion imports leaked over the weekend are "part of the further liberalization of the market," said World Gold Council director Albert Cheng to CNBC late Sunday.

Landing gold in Beijing offers "a shorter route for metal from refineries in Switzerland," says Cheng. There are also "lots of consumers in the north who can be better served."

"We have already started shipping material in directly to Beijing," Reuters quotes one un-named source for the story.

Here in London, precious metals trading and services from bullion market-maker Barclays will likely move to the UK bank's foreign exchange team, a report in the Financial Times claims, as it winds down its commodities division.

The leak follows moves by fellow London bullion market-makers Deutsche Bank, J.P.Morgan and Goldman Sachs to reduce their commodities business.

Courtesy: www.bullionvault.com