Demand for gold stays strong; closes above $1,600

By Mark O'Byrne: Today's AM fix was USD 1,612.75, EUR 1,286.19, and GBP 1,034.94 per ounce.Yesterday's AM fix was USD 1,589.25, EUR 1,271.40, and GBP 1,025.65 per ounce.Gold rose $11.40 or 0.71% yesterday in New York and closed at $1,611.60/oz. Gold started out trading sideways in Asia and then edged up in early European trading.

From GoldCore Silver Investment Demand Surges 30% As Silver ETF Holdings Robust Today’s AM fix was USD 1,577.00, EUR 1,049.10 and GBP 1,204.18 per ounce.Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,580.50, EUR 1,213.25 and GBP 1,054.02 per ounce. Silver is trading at $28.81/oz, €22.04/oz and £19.24/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,604.50/oz, palladium at $760.00/oz and rhodium at $1,200/oz.

By John Mylant: Interesting take on Gold Price Movement

It is a safe bet to say that 2012 will not be looked back upon with a great deal of fondness by the CEOs of the gold mining industry. From the executive suites of the largest gold miners to the smallest junior exploration companies, this past year will go down as the “annus horribilis” (horrible year) for investors in gold stocks.  The S&P/TSX Gold Index will close the year down about 21%.

We have been reporting extensively on the terminal disconnect between the paper gold market, which tumbled ten days ago for a variety of reasons, and the physical gold market which one can safely say, has seen a record surge in demand by those who wish to take advantage of the tumbling prices, depleting inventories of gold and silver in virtually all jurisdictions, and leading to the a record purchase of gold in the US mint a week ago as

Distrust of the Federal Reserve and concern that U.S. dollars may become worthless are fuelling a push in more than a dozen states to recognize gold and silver coins as legal tender. Arizona is poised to follow Utah, which authorized bullion for currency in 2011. Similar bills are advancing in Kansas, South Carolina and other states.

When the senior gold miners started reporting “all-in” cash costs earlier this year, investors noticed something startling: they aren’t making much margin at all.

It's a love-fest in Asia futures once again, but will it hold on Friday or through the weekend? One thing's for sure, sentiment was so sour about this 19th summit, that any bit of good news stood a decent chance of temporarily igniting the market. You can actually credit German chancellor Angela Merkel for that sour sentiment because she repeatedly stated Germany would not give in. The latest reports suggest Germany did blink, but not enough to please Italy, Spain, and France.