Gold Holds Steady as Bank of Korea Adds to Reserves

On Wednesday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for April delivery, the most active contract, closed flat to settle at $1,574.90 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures for May increased 20 cents to close at $28.80.

Both precious metals received support as the Bank of Korea said it added 20 metric tons of gold to its gold reserves last month. The move brings the central bank’s holdings to 104.4 tons. In the past two years, South Korea has made at least five major purchases of gold.

In a statement, the central bank explains, “The Bank of Korea’s gold buying is part of the long-term diversification of currencies and assets in foreign-exchange reserves. It is of no great importance to try to gauge if it’s profitable or not based on short-term price swings.”

In afternoon trading, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) gained 0.45 percent, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) increased 1.05 percent. Gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) such as Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) both jumped more than 3 percent. Silver names such as First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) and Endeavour Silver (NYSE:EXK) surged 5.9 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively.

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Disclosure: Long EXK, AG, HL, PHYS