Gold Hovering in a Tight Range

Gold and silver prices have been hovering today near their Tuesday closing prices. In overnight trading the metals climbed a little bit but then turned fractionally lower … with silver moving occasionally back into positive territory ... especially on the spot market. Investors mostly appear to be waiting … Among the things they are waiting for is to see what comes of the big vote in Germany tomorrow on whether Europe’s biggest economy will support of the continent’s bailout fund. If German lawmakers on Thursday reject a bigger contribution … that will likely increase speculation that Greece will default. And if THAT happens … look for gold to benefit. Investors also were taking their time digesting this morning’s Commerce Department report on durable goods for August. On the one hand, the overall number was slightly down … but not as much as some economists were predicting. On the other hand, orders last month for non-military items and aircraft … things like computers and communications gear … climbed the most since May. That’s a sign that the U.S. economy may escape falling back into a double-dip recession. If the U.S. is widely seen as immune to a double-dip recession … look for gold to fall lower. So … in other words … investors this morning are facing a complicated and fluid environment in which to make decisions. As a result … many investors are just holding off for the moment. NOW LET’S LOOK AT HOW MARKETS WERE DOING IN FLOOR TRADING … The price of gold for December delivery slipped $3.20 to $1,649.30 per troy ounce. Gold for immediate delivery was up $8.55 to $1,654.34. The price of silver on the New York futures exchange was off 26 cents to $31.28 … while silver for immediate delivery added 48 cents to $31.65.