Gold Spot Price Open: $1,162
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,165
Change in Gold Spot Price: +$3
Silver Spot Price Open: $15.72
Silver Spot Price Close: $15.76
Change in Silver Spot Price: +$0.04
Precious metals began the day moving downward, but due to a weaker USD Index finished the day not having moved all that much. When all was said and done, gold gained around three dollars while silver added roughly four cents. Platinum and palladium finished the day moving upward, both by about 5 dollars.
Subdued USD Index Gives Metals Room For Gains
The US Dollar Index posted an arch on the charts by beginning the day moving upward but finishing the day in the red. The USD is still in fine position and seems to only be suffering a minor corrective pullback. Against the Yen specifically, the greenback has been doing extremely well over the past few weeks and is looking like it will continue to do exactly that going forward.
Something that will likely help the Dollar in the coming days and weeks is the fact that Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Charles Plosser made comments regarding interest rates in the US. Plosser has been an advocate for raising interest rates sooner rather than later, and he did not mince words today when he was quoted as saying that “there are many indicators that tell us interest rates are too low. There is no precedent in history to have rates at zero. I think we are really behaving in a way which is outside of historical norms and that should make us nervous.” Plosser has stated time and time again that he is worried zero-level interest rates stand the chance of creating dangerous conditions for the US economy.
US Equities Fluctuate as European Equities Gain
Today we saw US equities fluctuate for much of the day, though they were still hovering around all-time and multi-year highs. Because today is a holiday in many parts of the world (Veterans Day/Armistice Day), the general market atmosphere was a bit more subdued than usual.
European equities, however, did not have such a quiet day and actually added a good bit of value throughout the overnight and early morning hours. Stocks across Europe were boosted by better than expected earnings reports from a number of major companies, but most notably Vodafone. It will be intriguing to see if equities across Europe will be able to continue doing well, or if today’s gains were nothing more than an isolated incident.
Ruble Continues to Fall Against Dollar
The US Dollar did not have the best day today, but the Russian Ruble fared for worse. The ruble, which has declined by almost 30% versus the Dollar this year, is continuing to be hurt by Western-imposed sanctions. Just yesterday, however, a bit of respite was offered in the form of the Russian Central Bank announcing that it will limit the number of rubles for sale in the coming months in an effort to increase the currency’s value. Today saw Russia’s central bank offer the fewest 7-day loans in more than a month.
Things may only be getting worse for the large nation as the UK and US were reported as joining sides with the EU in threatening to impose even stricter sanctions as a result of Russia’s supposed arming of rebels in Eastern Ukraine. Whether more sanctions come or not, however, remains to be seen.
Wrap-Up
Due to today being a holiday in many parts of the world, it should come as no surprise that the marketplace was as subdued as it was. To be truthful, the duration of the week is likely to be just as quiet and devoid of many economic talking points. Of course, investors will still continue to focus on equity and currency markets until their attention is drawn elsewhere.
