Gold Takes a Step Back, Silver Holds Its Ground

Gold and silver rose today but platinum and palladium ended lower. The reason for the increase in the price of gold was that the euro rose against the dollar. And the reason for the stronger euro had to do with the possibility that Greece may actually be close to getting about $172 billion in rescue money.

For months now Greece has been talking with the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund about getting financial aid so it won't default on its sovereign debt.  The three parties that Greece has been talking to are sometimes called the "troika" ... and the troika wants Greece to institute austerity measures, budget cuts and tax hikes before they give the country that $172 billion. Understandably ... those are hard conditions for Greece to accept ... especially since the country's already had a series of riots and strikes over earlier austerity measures.

But today there's fresh hope that the parties may be close to a deal. And since that seems to be the case, the value of the euro is higher today. In fact it's at its highest level in eight weeks. Conversely, the dollar is down. And whenever the dollar goes down ... gold and silver become less expensive for people who don't use dollars.

The other thing today helping lift the price of gold was fresh evidence that China is buying lots and lots of gold.