Gold Spot Price Open: $1,251
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,269
Change in Gold Spot Price: +$18
Silver Spot Price Open: $19.55
Silver Spot Price Close: $19.83
Change in Silver Spot Price: +$0.28
Gold and silver both traded up today while stocks suffered as a result of the Fed tapering QE further. When all was said and done, gold gained nearly 20 dollars while silver’s gains were once again closer to thirty cents.
Even though it did not come as much of a surprise, the FOMC today announced that they will follow through with tapering QE by another $10 billion per month. Due to today’s decision to taper, the Quantitative Easing monetary policy now sees the Fed buying only $65 billion worth of bonds every month, down from $85 billion barely over a month ago. As was expected, US equities sold off in dramatic fashion which aided the growth of safe-haven demand for precious metals. The FOMC also stated that interest rates in the US are going to remain low for the foreseeable future.
In other news from around the world, the Turkish central bank held an emergency meeting in response to the massively unstable day their currency had to begin the week. In response to the rising threat of deflation, the Turkish central bank decided to raise its key lending rate by 12%. Following Turkey’s move, the Indian and South African central banks also raised their key lending rates. These move temporarily calmed the countries’ respective economies, but only temporarily as US equity markets began spinning out of control shortly after the day began.
As it stands, gold is on the verge of crossing the $1,270 threshold and is looking increasingly enticing to investors. Though its ascent has not been as dramatic as gold’s, silver is also receiving more attention from investors who are fleeing the various world equity markets. As we bring this week to a close and investors have more time to mull over and digest today’s FOMC decision, it will be interesting to see if gold and silver can maintain their recent upward trajectory.