Gold rose on Friday, on track
for its strongest week in a month, after a U.S. Federal Reserve
official said there was no rush to end the monetary easing
programme that has increased the metal's appeal as a hedge
against inflation.
    Gold edged up this week as investors sought its safe-haven
status after the dollar and equity markets were hit by factory
data from China and the United States that showed the pace of
manufacturing had slowed.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/24/markets-precious-idUSL3N0E509720130524

Gold climbed off session lows
on Thursday after weak Chinese factory activity jolted stock
markets in Asia, sending investors back to the precious metal
despite expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will scale back
its monetary stimulus.
    The Nikkei dropped 7.3 percent, its biggest one-day
percentage fall in two years, after a preliminary survey showed
China's factory activity contracting, adding to concerns about a
delayed recovery. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares
outside Japan fell 2.1 percent.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/23/markets-precious-idUSL3N0E407K20130523

Global markets fell after weak Chinese data and worries that the US Federal Reserve may slow its monetary stimulus.

In Asia, the fall was led by Japan’s Nikkei index, which closed down 7.3% having fallen as much as 10%.

European markets also reversed recent rises, with London, Frankfurt and Paris falling around 2% at noon.

It followed data showing a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing, and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s hint that Quantitative Easing efforts may be scaled back.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22635446

Gold bounced back on Thursday from the previous session’s losses as the dollar fell sharply and European shares dropped after weak Chinese factory activity added to concerns about a delayed recovery in the country.

The flash HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index in China for May slipped under the 50-point level separating expansion from contraction, for the first time since October.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100759903

Premiums for gold bars rallied to all-time highs in Hong Kong and Singapore on Thursday after bullion’s steepest drop since its April sell-off fuelled another round of buying, constricting supply.

Gold bars in Hong Kong fetched premiums of up to $5 an ounce over spot London prices, driven by tight supply and strong demand from China, the world’s second-largest consumer after India. Premiums stood at $3 an ounce last week.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/16/gold-premiums-record-idUSL3N0DX10320130516

The latest World Gold Council Gold Demand Trends report, which reports on the period January-March 2013, shows a market driven by diverse global demand, and an appetite for owning gold jewellery that continues to grow.

Total jewellery demand was up 12% year-on-year in Q1 2013, driven in the main by Asian markets. Jewellery demand in China was up 19% on the same period last year and stood at a record 185 tonnes(t). Demand in both India and the Middle East was up 15% respectively and in the US, demand showed a significant increase, 6%, for the first time since 2005.

http://www.gold.org/media/press_releases/

Gold settled lower at $1,386 per ounce after it hit a four-week low on Thursday, declining for a sixth straight day for the first time in more than four years, as investors spooked by recent price falls favored other assets.

Prices touched a low of $1,369.29 an ounce, though they pared losses after downbeat U.S. economic data weighed on stocks and the dollar, both of which have hit significant highs this week.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100741572

India’s gold rush spooked the economy again as frantic purchases in April widened the trade deficit to a disturbing $17.8 billion, but people queued up to buy even more coins and ornaments on an auspicious gold-buying festival on Monday, setting the stage for an even bigger gap between imports and exports. The sharp fall in gold prices last month unleashed pent-up demand in India, lifting the import bill for bullion to $7.5 billion in April, up from a relatively modest $3.5 billion in the same month a year ago.

http://www.gata.org/node/12574/print

Gold rose on Tuesday for the
first time in four sessions, aided by a softer dollar, but
persistent outflows from exchange-traded funds reflected
investors' waning interest in the metal as a safe haven.
    A surprise rise in U.S. retail sales in April strengthened
the view that the U.S. economy remains resilient, damping
speculation the Federal Reserve will extend its bullion-friendly
bond-buying programme.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/14/markets-precious-idUSL3N0DV03M20130514

We know that printing money by the trillions of dollars raises the prices of stocks and bonds. This forces down the rate of interest, which slashes the cost of servicing government debt. So all looks OK. But it’s hard to imagine the slowing or stopping of quantitative easing (QE) without major adverse effects on the prices of stocks and bonds and the performance of the economy.

http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/2013/05/13/wealth-gap-cant-keep-growing