Gold Unruffled by Greece as Trading Range Enters Fourth Month

London (July 1)  As global markets convulsed this week over Greece’s possible exit from the euro, gold kept doing what it’s done for most of the year: not much.

The metal is little changed this week and volatility dropped to a seven-month low as demand for a haven from Europe’s political turmoil was balanced by a stronger dollar. Gold for immediate delivery added 0.1 percent $1,172.95 an ounce by 10:59 a.m. in London, according to Bloomberg generic pricing.

“The market seems to be very certain that nothing bad will happen,” Daniel Briesemann, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said by phone on Tuesday. “If we do get a Grexit, then we may see some direction in the gold price.”

While a traditional store of value amid crises, gold trading has been subdued even as Greece missed a deadline to repay the International Monetary Fund and creditors rebuffed last-ditch funding proposals. In a sign that Greece may reach an agreement, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accepted creditors’ proposals as a basis for compromise to end a standoff over its bailout.

This year has been characterized by small moves in gold, with prices stuck in a 6 percent, or $70, trading range since March. Bullion declined 1 percent in the first half, the smallest move since 2005.

Futures for August delivery were little changed at $1,171.50 on the Comex in New York, where the volume of contracts traded was 43 percent below the 100-day average given the time of day.

Holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products dropped for a third day on Tuesday, bringing the second-quarter decline to 1.8 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Silver for immediate delivery lost 0.8 percent to $15.6093 an ounce, falling for a fifth day.

Platinum rose 0.6 percent to $1,085.25 an ounce, the first gain in four days. Palladium climbed 2.1 percent to $689.40 an ounce, extending a rebound from a two-year low.

Source: Bloomberg