Il Ribasso Dei Prezzi Dell’Oro Sprona Le Vendite Di Gioielli Durante Il Periodo Natalizio.

Gold eased a bit again this morning as we are down to just a few more trading days of the year. Gold is trading right at the 1200 level down by $2.50 in the Asian session to trade at 1201.20. Gold is expected to close the year below the 1200 price point. Investors now expect a slow phasing out of the Fed’s bond-buying program though realize that tapering does not mean the end of central bank stimulus which has bolstered the rally in equities, with the Dow up 27 percent in 2013 and the S&P 500 gaining 30 percent.

The FOMC will probably cut its bond purchases by US$10 billion in each of its next seven meetings before ending the program in December 2014, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 41 economists conducted on December 19. Interest rates are expected to stay near current historic lows through 2015. Although no one can predict what Ms. Yellen will do once she steps in next month, although she is from the Ben Bernanke School of monetary policy, she has her own opinions.

The coming days will offer several clues on the economy including the Chicago Fed national activity index and consumer sentiment, both on Monday, followed by the FHFA house price Index, new home sales, durable goods orders, and the Richmond Fed manufacturing index, due on Tuesday, and weekly jobless claims, on Thursday.

US markets will close early on the 24th, at 1pm in New York, and are closed on the 25th for the Christmas holidays. Trading volumes are expected to be light until the New Year. Jewelers around the world a predicting a record season for gold jewelry sales as demand continues to increase with the current price declines. Major retail jewelers such as Tiffany’s are showing a huge unexpected jump in sales.

Gold futures ended the week above the closely watched $1,200-an-ounce, gaining back some of their 3%-plus drop to three-year lows in the prior session. But it was the only positive day of the week, as another batch of strong economic data weighed further on prices. Gold prices in the futures market are likely to be range-bound as attraction for buyers, especially in Asia, could be dampened by fears of further drop in prices due to US cutting its stimulus program. Odds that gold will fall further have increased. Holdings in gold exchange-traded funds increased for the first time in seven weeks, though. Gold holdings in SPDR Trust, world’s biggest exchange-trade fund, increased to 814.12 tonnes.

Bearish bets on gold increased to 75,199 contracts, while bullish bets fell to 32,524 last week, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Rising bearish or short positions do pose a risk in that prices could rise if investors try to square them.

Silver continues to take a beating as the demand for precious metals wanes and the US dollar continues to build momentum. Silver gave up 123 points in the Asian session to trade at 19.330 while copper remained flat at 3.302. Palladium and platinum are both trading in the green to begin the week with Palladium at 701.60 recovering above the 700 level and platinum at 1332.00. All metals are expected to remain rangebound ahead of the holidays.