Investing.com -- Gold futures moved slightly lower on Thursday, as thousands of Greek gold miners flooded Syntagma Square outside the Parliament in Athens in spirited protest.
Normally, the event could be considered innocuous in an area rife with demonstration since the Financial Crisis. The demands, however, for the prompt delivery of wage and pension payments also underscore the gravity of a perilous debt crisis on the verge of spinning out of control.
Gold, which historically has been a safe haven for investors in times of chaos, rose to a daily-high of $1,208.80 an ounce in European afternoon trading before falling slightly as investors locked in profits. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery dipped 4.30 or 0.36% to 1,197 after experiencing modest gains one day earlier.
Gold likely gained support at 1,185.40, the low from March 20 and resistance at 1,204.60, the high from April 10.
It is becoming increasingly likely that Greece could exit the euro zone and default on its sovereign debt, triggering a potential catastrophic situation that European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said on Wednesday he does not even want to contemplate.
With substantial Greek payments looming over the next three months, S&P lowered the nation's long and short-term credit ratings on its sovereign debt to CCC+ from B- ahead of a critical meeting of euro group finance ministers next Friday in Latvia. On Wednesday, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the Council of Foreign Relations in New York that practically no one expects Greece to make a series of key repayments by the meeting on April 24 in Riga or anytime in the coming weeks.
Greece owes the International Monetary Fund a payment of nearly €775 million on May 11 for a loan under the IMF's first bailout program in 2010. Several weeks later, Greece must repay another €309 million to the IMF for repayment of the bailout. In response, IMF head Christine Lagarde said Thursday that a delay in payments over the next few weeks is "not recommendable."
The Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied a report from the Financial Times that officials in Athens approached the IMF about a potential delay. In addition, Greece prime minister Alexis Tsipras told Reuters that he is "firmly optimistic" that his nation will reach an agreement with its creditors by the end of the month on a list of revised reform measures needed to unlock critical aid. In recent days, Athens officials have denied that the nation will default on its default and denied the possibility of a new election that could unseat the Syriza government.
The dire implications, though, accelerated a sell-off on Greek debt, as yields on Greek 2-Year bonds spiked more than 26% on Thursday. Yields on Greek 10-Year bonds also moved above 13%, reaching the highest level since December, 2012.
Gold, meanwhile, is down roughly 9% from mid-January when it rose above $1,300 a troy ounce. Gold futures have wavered throughout the spring, as a strong U.S. jobs report for the month of February signaled the possibility of an imminent interest-rate hike before relatively dovish comments from Federal Reserve head Janet Yellen on a stagnant economy provided indications of a delay in lift-off.
Since gold is not attached with dividends or interest, the precious metal struggles to compete with high-yield bearing assets in periods of rising rates.
Elsewhere, silver futures for May delivery fell 0.0039 or 0.24% to 16.24 an ounce.
Copper for May delivery gained 0.060 or 2.20% to 2.772 a pound.