Gold Spot Price Open: $1,246
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,242
Change in Gold Spot Price: -$4
Silver Spot Price Open: $20.32
Silver Spot Price Close: $20.24
Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.08
Gold and silver more or less replicated yesterday’s losses today on a day where most global markets performed well. When all was said and done, gold lost roughly four dollars while silver lost just a few pennies shy of a dime.
Yesterday’s upbeat monthly retail sales report as well as a positive Empire State manufacturing survey reported today compounded the pressure being placed on precious metals. The past two day’s worth of positive economic data out of the United States have worked to quell investor fears with regard to the US economy stemming from last Friday’s unusually weak employment report. US equities as well as the US Dollar increased in strength today as a result of the positive economic data from the past two days.
The Federal Reserve’s beige book was released this afternoon and helped investors gain more insight into how the US economy performed over the winter holiday(s). Out of the Federal Reserve’s 12 banking districts, 3-quarters described growth through November and December as “moderate.” Nine banking districts reporting moderate growth improves upon October through early November’s beige book report of just 7. Boston and Philadelphia described their region’s growth as “modest” through the holidays while Kansas City reported a more stagnant holiday season. The Fed is scheduled to meet in just about two weeks time, at which point we will hopefully hear more about the economy and the future of Quantitative Easing.
European stocks performed well today, fueled by yesterday’s strong US stock performance. In fact, the European stock market hit 6-year highs today; yet another factor working against precious metals spot values. Strong performances by European equities came despite a poor annual GDP reading for Germany in 2013. The strongest European economy posted an annual GDP increase of just under a half percent. Germany’s annual GDP reading, like last week’s employment report, is in stark contrast to recent economic data from the European region.
