MTECHTIPS:-Gold prices down in Asia after surprise gain in China December exports

MTECHTIPS:-Gold prices down in Asia after surprise gain in China December exports

Gold held lower in Asia after solid China trade data for December showed a surprise gain in exports. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for February delivery was down 0.07% to $1,084.40 a troy ounce. Silver futures for March delivery rose 0.39% to $13.805 a troy ounce, while copper futures jumped 0.70% to $1.971 a pound. China reported December exports rose 1.4%, far outpacing an expected 8.0% drop and the first gain in six months, while imports fell 7.6%, less than the 11.5% drop seen. The trade balance came in at $60.09 billion, wider than the expected $53 billion surplus. As well, China's exports rose in December for the first gain in six months, initial figures in yuan terms showed Wednesday. Data from the General Administration of Customs showed a gain of 2.3% for exports in December compared with a year earlier in yuan terms. Imports fell 4.0% in December in yuan terms. In 2015, exports fell 1.8% and imports declined 13.2% with a trade surplus of RMB3.69 trillion expanding 56.7% from 2014. As well, the yuan's central parity rate against the U.S. dollar was set at 6.5630 Wednesday, slightly weaker than Tuesday's 6.5628, the People's Bank of China said.

WWW.MTECHTIPS.COM

07489294118-119