MCX Gold, Silver, Copper, Crude Updates Today 07 Dec. 2012

• Bullions:

Gold futures rose Thursday, as some investors closed out bets on lower prices ahead of Friday's closely watched U.S. unemployment report. Gold futures have fallen for six of the last eight weeks, as investors turned their focus toward the impending set of automatic tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect in the U.S. in January. The chance that politicians will fail to come to a deal to avert the measures, and that the U.S. dollar may rise 

in response should investors seek the safe-haven currency, has made investors wary of betting on higher gold prices. 

• Base Metals

Copper futures slipped Thursday, as renewed worry about Europe's economic health and a stronger U.S. dollar pushed some investors to cash out after the previous day's six-week highs. Futures Wednesday had climbed to the highest prices since Oct. 18 on signs that China and the U.S., the world's largest consumers of the metal, were on track for stronger-than-expected economic growth. But copper traded lower for most of Thursday's session, as a decline in crude-oil prices and wavering U.S. equities markets eroded investor appetite for risk. Meantime, the European Central Bank cut its euro-zone growth forecast for 2013, putting further pressure on copper prices. The ECB now predicts a contraction of 0.3% next year, a sharp downward revision from the prior forecast of 0.5% growth made just three months ago. 

•  Energy

Crude Oil prices were lower yesterday, weighed down by Wednesday's oil-inventory report and a weak economic outlook in the euro zone. Market participants said investors were still reacting to Wednesday's U.S. oil-inventory report, which said gasoline inventories rose by 7.9 million barrels last week, an increase of historic proportions. Distillate stocks were also somewhat higher. Market participants are also gearing up for Friday's release of the monthly U.S. nonfarm payroll data. Economists expect Hurricane Sandy was a drag on net job growth this month. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expects only 80,000 new jobs were added in November, less than half the healthy 171,000 created in October. Finally, the market is beginning to turn its eye to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which meets next week in Vienna. Given the lofty state of crude oil inventories, some experts expect OPEC to consider trimming output.