Gold Spot Price Open: $1,279

Gold Spot Price Close: $1,273

Change in Gold Spot Price: -$6

Silver Spot Price Open: $21.52

Silver Spot Price Close: $21.37

Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.15

Gold and silver seemed to be heading towards positive finishes on the day, but a few late day hits ended up flipping the table. When all was said and done, gold lost about 6 dollars while silver lost roughly fifteen cents.

The US government has been partially shutdown for about two weeks now, and finally it seems as though we are beginning to see progress. Late last week we broke a story hinting that President Obama and Congressional leaders were in talks about possibly raising the debt ceiling temporarily so that lawmakers can more immediately focus on the budget issue. While this gave some people hope, those talks broke down over the weekend and ended up giving way to other possible developments in regards to the budget fiasco. The fact that talks between Obama and Congress have come to little or no fruition have created an inkling of an increase in safe-haven demand for precious metals.

Today, it was reported that Democrats and Republicans are beginning to engage in constructive talks about the budget. While no real evidence of such talks has been seen, the fact that the two sides are communicating at all is a big shift from last week.

As we inch closer and closer to the debt ceiling deadline while in the midst of the government shutdown safe-haven demand for gold and silver will likely be seen rising. In addition to that, a continued shutdown coupled with no debt ceiling solution stands a very real possibility of sending the worldwide economic marketplace into panic. Not only that, but the US also is at risk of receiving a lower credit rating. The next few days are quickly shaping up to be some of the most important days for the US government in recent history. Keep your eyes and ears peeled as any development stands the chance to shift the worldwide precious metals marketplace.