Gold Spot Price Open: $1,290
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,286
Change in Gold Spot Price: -$4
Silver Spot Price Open: $19.61
Silver Spot Price Close: $19.53
Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.08
Precious metals spot values did not move too dramatically on Friday, but by the time markets closed they were seen having lost just a little bit of value. When all was said and done, gold lost about 4 dollars while silver lost closer to ten cents. Platinum also edged slightly lower to close out the week, but palladium was able to pick up closer to ten dollars.
Spot Gold on Course For Monthly Gain
Fueled by a recent flare-up in the violence and tensions surrounding Ukraine, spot gold has been able to inch its way towards the end of the month still on the positive side of things. Though its monthly gains are going to be marginal to say the least, it is still encouraging to see that the yellow metal is hanging in there and weathering an increasingly bearish market.
There have recently been very few factors able to move gold too far in any one direction, but that may all change come next week. According to Saxo Bank’s head of commodities research Ole Hansen, “Gold has not been able to determine what theme to latch onto, (and) activity remains subdued as a result. The ECB meeting and U.S. job report (next week) may jolt it back to life, but currently it’s on life support, having clocked the smallest weekly range in two months.”
Stocks, USD Close Out Week Strongly
After taking a small step backwards on Thursday, US equity markets opened the day on Friday and immediately began adding value. The S&P 500, which has been heavily watched this week after hitting an all-time high, was back up above the 2,000 threshold and maintaining that lofty position. As expected, there is a good bit of resistance being felt at levels too far above 2,000, but the index remains strong nonetheless.
The USD Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of rival currencies, also trended sharply upward during the second half of the day Friday. For the month of August, there were few better-performers than the US Dollar. At present, it is approaching a fresh 12-month high and is continuously making gains against an ever-weakening Euro currency. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact, if any, next week’s ECB meeting and US jobs report has on the progress of the US Dollar and US equities.
Wrap-Up
As we look ahead to next week, it is clear to see that the market will have a lot more to focus on than what they were dealt the previous two 5-day sessions. Due to the observance of the Labor Day holiday, US markets will not officially reopen until Tuesday morning. This gives investors an extra day of vacation, but also gives the situation in Ukraine an extra day to develop and change shapes. Though it is unclear how things will shape up next week, it is very clear the investors will have plenty to keep themselves busy.
