Gold Recaptures $1,600 on Spain and Italy Concerns

On Tuesday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for August delivery increased $17 to settle at $1,613.80 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures gained 33 cents to close at $28.95.

Both precious metals climbed higher as fears in Spain and Italy continue to weigh on markets. Spanish bond yields hit a new high near 6.8 percent on the 10-year. Meanwhile, the yields on Italian government bonds climbed further above 6 percent to hit almost 6.3 percent, their highest level of the year.

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“It is quite likely that Spain needs a full bailout in the near future although policy makers will try all possible options to avoid this outcome, including a revival of bond purchases by the ECB as well as another three-year liquidity operation,” said Pavan Wadhwa, global head of interest rate strategy at J.P. Morgan Chase, according to WSJ.

In afternoon trading, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) gained .59 percent, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) jumped 1.04 percent. Gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) such as Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) and Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE:GG) increased 2.49 percent and 1.72 percent, respectively. Silver names such as Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) and First Majestic (NYSE:AG) surged 3.57 percent and 4.79 percent, respectively.

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Disclosure: Long EXK, AG, HL, PHYS