More of the Same Ahead for Gold

Gold and silver both continued slipping this morning, as inflation concerns ease. Oil too has softened in light of good potential for supply increases in coming months. With less emotional turmoil over the economy at the moment, encouraged by solid retail sales in the early days of Christmas shopping, the perceived need for gold as a hedge against inflation is evaporating slightly and profit taking will continue so long as these feelings and influences dominate investors and fund managers thoughts.

This can be seen most clearly in the futures market for precious metals, with February gold down about $15. Fund profit taking also seems to be set to continue heavily throughout this Fridays trading.

In India, where gold was a very hot commodity in the last half of 2007, demand has eased and investors attentions seem to have moved towards the stock market. Trading is getting very active and stock indexes are driving upwards at a sharp rate.

Though dollar confidence remains on the incline, much world sentiment is squared off against the U.S and it's currency. Keep this and other economic information in mind when making investment decisions. Investors with an eye for the long term always try to keep a balanced portfolio, which will certainly include some form of stabilizing commodities interests.