Gold and Silver Bounce Higher After Sharp Pullback

On Thursday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for April delivery increased $10.90 to settle at $1,722.20 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures jumped $1.02 to close at $35.62.

The bounce in precious metals comes a day after gold and silver both suffered their worst single day decline year-to-date.  Although Ben Bernanke failed to announce an official QE3 program to Congress this week, many investors saw the pullback as a buying opportunity, as nothing fundamentally has changed.  Ultra-low interest rates and expanding central bank balance sheets continue to make gold and silver an attractive investment.

Don’t Miss: Is Domino’s Pizza a Tech Play for Investors?

“In our view, the recent correction is temporary and does not question the mid- or long-term upward path of gold,” BNP Paribas analyst Anne-Laure Tremblay explained. “We may test $1,700 an ounce, but I would be surprised if we broke this level durably.”

In afternoon trading, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) gained 1.8 percent, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) jumped 2.6 percent.  Gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) such as Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) edged about .50 percent higher, while Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE:GG) increased 2.4 percent.  Meanwhile, silver investments such as Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) and Endeavour Silver (NYSE:EXK) gained more than 1 percent.

Investor Insight: Dr. Ron Paul Shows Ben Bernanke What Real Money Looks Like

If you would like to receive professional analysis on equity miners and other precious metal investments, we invite you to try our premium service free for 14 days.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric McWhinnie at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com