Market pressures force gold to firm up

Gold has firmed up in the wake of market pressures.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

Market pressures have seen gold firm up today (March 4th) following three weeks of losses in a row for the precious metal.

Political deadlock in Italy, as well as the ongoing situation in the US, were cited as reasons for the metal's improved performance.

Despite today's bounce, gold remains down by five per cent over the course of the year so far and Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar said "there has been relentless liquidation and short-selling of gold".

He added: "We've seen a few corrective bounces. The jitters in Europe, particularly in Italy, have helped that cause."

According to a report by Reuters, spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at $1,578.66 (£1,048.07) an ounce at 13:05 GMT today, while US gold futures for April delivery rose $5.90 an ounce to $1,578.20.

After chairman of the US Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke defended the central bank's monetary stimulus before Congress last month, the Forex Gold Index rose by 0.7 per cent to $1608.50 per ounce.

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