On Monday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for December — the most active contract — increased $22 to close at $1,334.20 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures for September jumped 93 cents to finish at $21.34. It was gold’s fourth consecutive day of gains.
Both precious metals climbed higher as a new report revealed that China is still buying gold at an impressive pace.
In the first six months of the year, domestic gold purchases surged 54 percent to 706.4 tons from a year earlier, according to the China Gold Association. In comparison, the region consumed 832.2 tons in all of 2012.
Demand for gold bars and jewelry items easily outpaced the weakness seen in the industry category. Gold-bar purchases surged 87 percent to 278.8 tons while jewelry purchases jumped 44 percent to 383.9 tons. The World Gold Council estimates that China will surpass India by the end of this year for gold consumption.
By the end of the trading day, shares of the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) gained 1.8 percent while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) jumped 4.4 percent. Gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) and Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) increased 4.5 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively. Shares of Endeavour Silver (NYSE:EXK) surged more than 8 percent.
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Disclosure: Long EXK, AG, HL, PHYS
Read the original article from Wall St. Cheat Sheet