Gold Spot Price Open: $1,337
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,339
Change in Gold Spot Price: +$2
Silver Spot Price Open: $21.47
Silver Spot Price Close: $21.50
Change in Silver Spot Price: +$0.03
Gold and silver were halted after yesterday’s gains, but managed to hang on to somewhat lofty positions to close out what has been a great week. When all was said and done, spot gold didn’t move all that much and neither did spot silver. Platinum and palladium’s stories were none too different either as both metals continued to cool off after recent gains.
US Dollar Makes Gains On Back OF Weak Canadian Data
The last few days have seen the US Dollar make some solid gains thanks to many of the same factors that have provided aid for precious metals. Unlike metals, however, the greenback was able to add to early week gains today as a result of a weak employment report from Canada.
Compared to expectations of more than 20,000 jobs being added to Canada’s economy last month, the actual data showed a decline of nearly 10,000. This unexpected news pushed the Canadian Dollar downward and gave the USD even more of a lift.
Equity Markets Par Losses, Still Feeling Pressure
After yesterday’s massive equity market sell-off in both Europe and the United States, stock indexes were able to rebound a bit today. With that said, however, the pressure is still on as worries with regard to the EU’s financial stability abound.
Most notable of the market’s concerns yesterday were those with regard to Portugal’s banking system. After reports streamed in claiming that Portugal’s second-largest bank may be in some trouble, investors were quick to hit the panic button. Bond market yields rose sharply in the wake of that report, but mostly recovered once things calmed down today. As we look ahead to next week, I expect investor attention to remain locked on bond markets in Europe as well as any economic data that is made public.
Platinum, Palladium Prices To Potentially Correct Themselves
Despite platinum and palladium spot values edging higher for a majority of this week, some experts think a downward correction is on the horizon. Now that mine strikes in South Africa are finally resolved, production of these two metals will shortly be resumed and worries with regard to supply will eventually subside. Strategist at ANZ, Victor Thianpiriya, was quoted as saying, “Now that South Africa’s platinum producers and the labor union have come to a wage agreement, the industry has started the process of recommencing production. Getting back to full production could take months, but as production comes back online and pipelines are rebuilt, the tightness in physical supply will subside.” He also went on to say, “While prices could continue to rise further in the short term, we think the upside is limited.”
Wrap-Up
Looking ahead to next week, investors will have a lot on their plate. With violence still raging in the Middle East and worries surrounding the European financial system, there will be a lot of moving parts to pay attention to over the next few days and beyond.
