Precious metals prices continued lower early on Monday in Europe but at a slower pace than in recent weeks, with pro-Democracy protests in Hong Kong providing a boost to safe-haven buying. Violent clashes between protestors and the police were reported in Hong Kong over the weekend and this morning, with tear gas and water cannons being used to disperse huge crowds blocking access to the financial district. Having traded as low as $1,215.30 at one point this morning, spot gold managed to make back some of the losses and was last a modest 60 cents above Friday’s closing level at $1,219.40/1,220.20 per ounce. The pattern was repeated in silver, which…

One of the depressing factors with regard to the gold price so far this year has been the reported fall-off in Chinese gold demand, although by world standards it remains pretty healthy. But there are now signs that it is beginning to pick up again. While the full year total is still not expected to match the record 2013 level a recent pick-up in withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) suggests the lower prices may be beginning to stimulate demand again. Koos Jansen, who is almost certainly the most consistent analyst and follower of Chinese gold demand data, has noted the pick-up and points out on www.bullionstar.com that the…