Gold, Silver Fall as Cypriot Lawmakers Debate Bailout

Gold futures fell as lawmakers in Cyprus debated measures needed for a bailout, crimping demand for the precious metal as a store of value. Silver dropped the most in three weeks.

Averof Neofytou, the deputy president of Cyprus’s ruling Disy party, said that a “framework” on a bailout package may be set “in the next few hours.” Gold rose for the third straight week, partly because of concerns that Europe’s debt crisis will escalate.

“The markets are sensing that there may be some kind of resolution,” James Cordier, the founder of Optionsellers.com in Tampa, Florida, said in a telephone interview.

On the Comex in New York, gold futures for April delivery dropped 0.5 percent to settle at $1,606.10 an ounce at 1:39 p.m. This week, the price rose 0.8 percent, and the third gain marked the longest rally in six months.

Gold has dropped 4.2 percent this year. Holdings in exchange-traded products backed by the metal have slumped 6.8 percent in 2013, heading for the first quarterly decline in two years, data tracked by Bloomberg showed.

Silver futures for May delivery fell 1.8 percent to $28.698 an ounce on the Comex, the biggest drop since Feb. 28.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum futures for April delivery gained 0.1 percent to $1,581.70 an ounce. The metal declined 0.7 percent this week.

Palladium futures for June delivery climbed 0.6 percent to $761.55 an ounce. The price dropped 1.8 percent this week.

To contact the reporter on this story: Debarati Roy in New York at droy5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net