gold prices

Published: Thursday, 14 Feb 2013 | 1:00 AM ET
By: Ansuya Harjani
Assistant Producer, CNBC Asia

Central banks scooped up more gold in 2012 than they have annually in nearly half a century as they sought to diversify reserves, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.

640 Host, Jasmine Bowen goes through her Top 10 reasons why you should own physical Gold and Silver.

Tune in to AM 640 Thursday at 7:05 pm ET to listen to the weekly Gold & Silver Precious Metals Update featuring Cache Metals' Robert Rosenzweig.

Ask any veteran investor about the 2008 financial crisis and you’ll probably hear the word “unimaginable” bandied about. From the demise of the U.S. housing market to the collapse of U.S. investment banking giant Lehman Brothers to the virtual collapse of entire countries like Greece, it was the kind of financial and economic Armageddon that most investors never really thought possible.

Spot gold retreated on concerns the lingering strike in India will cut into the buying. The yellow metal dealt to an intra-day low of $1654.

“Enthusiasm for precious metals waned as the boost from (Federal Reserve Chairman) Bernanke’s dovish comments the previous day began to fade. Evaporating physical demand also pushed gold lower, dragging down the rest of the complex” Standard Bank said in their daily note.

Another muted day on the metals market as spot gold traded lower to $1683. Traders and investors awaited the FOMC meeting on interest rates.

Spot gold recovered earlier losses moving into positive territory touching $1687 as upbeat U.S data gave the metal a renewed life after last week’s $100 drop.