Gold Spot Price Open: $1,209
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,210
Change in Gold Spot Price: +$1
Silver Spot Price Open: $17.13
Silver Spot Price Close: $17.18
Change in Silver Spot Price: +$0.05
Precious metals attempted a move upward after Tuesday’s losses, but ended up finishing the day not having moved very far from where they started it. When all was said and done, gold managed gains of about a dollar while silver was up by about 5 pennies. Platinum and palladium were also up on the day, but gains did not exceed 5 dollars.
Was This The Decisive Blow to June Rate Hike Expectations?
For the last week or so, investors the world over have been concerning themselves with the minutes from the Fed’s Apriul meeting, which were made public this afternoon. In the lead-up to the minutes’ release, the main concern for investors and market analysts was whether June rate hikes, which have been expected for some time now, are going to actually come to fruition. Though everyone, about a month or two ago, was convinced rate hikes this summer were inevitable, we have now seen a marked change in the sentiment of investors.
Eric Green, who is the head of US rates and economic research, commented on what he thought about the possibility of impending rate hikes when he said, “the April statement read more like a central bank preparing for more QE than one marching toward tightening with confidence. That subdued tone virtually eliminated the risk of a mid-year rate hike.” Through his statement, it is clear to him that rate hikes will not be taking place anytime soon.
The minutes, when they finally were released, did not do much in the way of swaying Mr. Green’s belief. They did not paint the picture of a Fed that is overly confident in the pace of US economic growth and, in truth, sounded a bit unsure as to what the future holds for the US economy. Seeing as most people expected the Fed’s minutes to err on the side of being cautious, the minutes actually proving to be cautious ended up making for a marketplace that didn’t have much of a reaction. Gold and silver perked up on the news, but saw limited gains as they were still feeling the bite of yesterday’s massive price decline. As we head into tomorrow, expect people from countries in Europe and Asia to put forth delayed reactions to today’s minutes.
Eyes Remain On Greece
We touched on it a bit earlier this week, but the eyes of the investing world are remaining right on top of Greece as investors remain curious about the country’s financial situation and ability to honor debt repayments. Some are even saying that Greece, through all of the negative headlines the nation has created, has done a good job of devaluing the Euro over the past few months. Though some experts say that this is a bit overstated, I have no doubts that Greece’s potential insolvency has driven investors away from the European Union.
As we head forward through this week and into next, I am sure we will hear more about what Greece is doing to combat this situation. After all, even members of Greece’s camp have made it clear that serious ramifications may take place if Greece and EU/IMF officials are not able to strike a deal by the end of this month. At this point, a deal being reached is more on the unlikely side of things than anything else.
Wrap-Up
Heading into Thursday, investors from overseas will have a chance to react to today’s Fed minutes, so expect that to consume much of the morning. Apart from that, you will see investors focused on the reading of unemployment claims from last week. This bit of data has been consistently upbeat over the past few weeks, so it will be extremely important for things to stay the course this time around.
