Gold +2.5% In Euros

Gold +2.5% In Euros – EU Considering Deposit Withdrawal Restrictions

Today’s AM fix was USD 1,611.50, EUR 1,246.62 and GBP 1,059.99 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,608.75, EUR 1,246.42 and GBP 1,059.43 per ounce.

Silver is trading at $29.05/oz, €22.52/oz and £19.19/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,588.50/oz, palladium at $751.00/oz and rhodium at $1,250/oz.

Gold climbed $8.70 or 0.43% and closed yesterday at $1,614.40/oz. Silver reached $29.31 and finished +1.29%.

Gold is slightly lower in all major currencies this morning but remains near a 4 week high, underpinned by safe haven demand due to concern of a financial meltdown in Cyprus and the risk of contagion in other European countries.

Gold bullion is headed for its second consecutive weekly rise and its biggest weekly rise in four months.

Gold is 1.4% higher in dollar terms and 2.5% higher in euro terms. In British pounds, gold has consolidated after the gains seen in sterling in recent weeks and is 0.8% higher for the week.
GoldCore Market Performance Table 21st March 2013

The clock is ticking for Cyprus to come up with a solution to clinch an international ‘bailout’, otherwise it could face the collapse of its financial system and exit from the euro zone.

There is a slow but creeping realisation that this crisis will almost certainly escalate. Financial contagion could ensue due to risks to payment systems and bank deposits which are often guaranteed by near insolvent governments.

Events in Cyprus look like that they could precipitate bank runs in Greece, Spain and Italy with obvious negative ramifications for the entire EU banking and financial system.

Senior euro zone officials acknowledged in a confidential conference call yesterday that they were "in a mess" and discussed imposing capital controls to insulate the currency area from a possible collapse of the Cypriot economy.

In Brussels, a senior European Union official told Reuters that an ECB withdrawal would mean forcing Cyprus to abandon the euro.
Gold In EUR, 10 Day - (Bloomberg)
Gold In EUR, 10 Day - (Bloomberg)

The ECB has warned of the "great danger" of a bank run once banks reopen next week and has said that they may enforce capital controls overriding the government of Cyprus. Other draconian restrictions on people's private property include an indefinite “freezing” of savings accounts, making bank or wire transfers dependent on central bank approval and lower ATM and bank deposit withdrawal limits.

While, the capital controls will be designed "so that citizens have access to sufficient cash to go about their lives", they are likely to lead to a further collapse of consumer confidence in Cyprus and the collapse of commerce as businesses are greatly hampered in carrying out every day business activities.

This is not the first time this has happened in the EU and unfortunately, it will not be the last time.

Only last June, the Bank of Italy authorized the suspension of payments by Bank Network Investments Spa (BNI) without communicating anything to depositors. The BNI, a large Italian bank, suspended operations and clients with bank accounts could not write checks, pay bills, make mortgage payments, and use ATMs or debit and credit cards.

At the time, it was reported that not alone was the EU considering imposing a limit on the amount of money that can be withdrawn from ATMs but they were also considering imposing border checks and introducing currency controls to stop a flight of capital out of European countries.

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Webinar Available to Watch Now: All You Need To Know About Silver
Poor man’s gold silver continues to get no love with little or no coverage despite fundamentals that are arguably better than those for other assets, securities and even gold. Thus, GoldCore conducted a webinar on Wednesday with one of the leading silver experts in the world, Mr David Morgan, along with our own Research Director, Mark O'Byrne.

The webinar was very well attended with participants from all over the world – by investors in Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Due to the dearth of information and debate about silver, we decided on a question and answer format.

After receiving hundreds of questions, we chose 33 and organised them into key groups:

Silver Price Rise? Record Prices & When to Sell?
Silver Price Falls?
Supply and Demand
Manipulation
Confiscation
Asset Allocation / What To Own
What To Buy?
Where To Store?
ends

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