Market action in Gold, Oil continues

New York gold's last trading session of the month and the quarter ended with a small loss in the August contract and spot prices were quoted near $926 at last check after a rally that stopped short of $940 following small gains in the US dollar (up to near 72.50 on the index) and an evaporation of most of the early gains that crude oil exhibited in early going.

After climbing to new peaks above $143 black gold eased back to $140.75 retaining only a half dollar advance on the day. US military officials downplayed the potential for Iran to do anything significant in the Straits of Hormuz as far as oil flows are concerned, even if a pre-emptive US or Israeli strike befalls on its nuclear installations.

Stocks were fairly quiet, gaining less than 50 points on the day. Thus far, the month and quarter-end book squaring activity expected for the day has yielded less little in terms of volumes and volatility. Silver lost 6 cents to trade at $17.42 while platinum was still ahead $12 at $2054 (primarily on Lonmin's smelter repairs shutdown) but palladium lost $5 a5 $461 per ounce. The gold ETF made a rather lukewarm debut in Tokyo and will -for the time being- still remain a US institutional and geographic concentration phenomenon.

Dollar policy, interest rate trends, and energy markets unfolding remain at the epicenter of the mid-year markets' pivot points (as they have indeed pretty much dominated the headlines of the first half of 2008) and uncertainty is still part of the financial and market fabric as we head for the second half. The trio may range-trade for a short while yet, but course changes are very likely in the making as we cover the current action.

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