Gold Spot Price Open: $1,187
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,185
Change in Gold Spot Price: -$2
Silver Spot Price Open: $16.23
Silver Spot Price Close: $16.18
Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.05
Precious metals moved forward a bit on Thursday thanks to a continuation of the belief that interest rates will not be raised this month before backing down by day’s end. When all was said and done, gold had modest losses of about two dollars while silver lost only a few pennies. Platinum and palladium both made advances today, with platinum picking up close to ten dollars while palladium’s gains were more limited—at about three dollars.
Polled Economists Do Not Expect Rate Hikes
A Bloomberg survey taken last week polled 55 economists and all but one of them expect that we will endure another FOMC meeting without seeing interest rates risen. Being that this is the case, many are wondering what it will take for interest rates to finally be raised before the conclusion of the year.
For one, the volatility of the global marketplace needs to be kept in check. Surprise central bank policy shifts such as China devaluing the Yen is just one example of sudden, drastic changes that throw the global marketplace into an upheaval of sorts. When market conditions are flipped on their head, the market reacts by tightening up and not making much of any movement.
In addition, polled economists made it clear that the next few payroll reports released this year need to be upbeat in order for interest rate hikes to remain a 2015 possibility. In case you are unaware, the last few payroll reports from the United States have been sub-par in nature, and being that that is one of the key metrics by which the Fed is measuring the suitability of a rate hike this year. When it comes down to it, it is difficult to see any scenario that sees rates hiked this month. As for the possibility of rate hikes before the end of the year, that much is still up in the air. That being said, each passing day and each new economic report make it seem like a 2015 rate hike is not very likely.
Stocks Gain and Put Pressure on Metals
Citigroup posted particularly impressive numbers today and their data alone allowed most US stocks to venture forward. Citigroup posted much better than expected income during the third-quarter, and that saw the company’s shares shoot upward on Thursday.
Also putting some late day pressure on gold and silver was the fact that crude oil prices slid downward thanks to a demand and supply imbalance. As has been the case throughout much of this year, the amount of crude oil being refined is far exceeding the commodity’s demand. This much is seen very clearly in the price consumers pay at the pump. Being that crude oil is a leading commodity, its price action often and almost always influences that of gold and silver. Despite taking a bit of a hit towards the end of the day, both gold and silver spot values are having a nice trading week thus far. It will be interesting to see if stronger stocks and lower crude oil prices will have a negative affect on spot values to close out the week.
Wrap-Up
As we look forward to bringing this week to a close, the market cannot help but notice the climb both gold and silver have taken part in this week. It will be intriguing to see if gains made this week can last through the weekend and into the next 5-day trading session. With the FOMC meeting and post-meeting press conference exactly two weeks away, expect the market to be in full speculation mode come next week.
