Gold Spot Price Open: $1,291
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,299
Change in Gold Spot Price: +$8
Silver Spot Price Open: $18.47
Silver Spot Price Close: $18.46
Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.01
Both gold and silver have performed quite well over the past 2 days (when you consider the circumstances surrounding the election and interest rates) and are reaching highs we have not seen in months. When all was said and done, gold managed to gain another 8 dollars while silver performed well to begin the day but finished having lost about a penny or so. Platinum and palladium were up on the day but, like gold and silver, early morning highs turned downward and both metals finished in the red by a few dollars.
ADP Employment Report Misses the Mark
Helping gold and silver right out of the gate was an ADP employment report for October that did not paint the most upbeat picture of private-sector job growth. Today’s data from the payrolls processing giant was two-parted. For one, October job growth in the private-sector ticked upward by just under 150,000. Official consensus expectations called for that same number to be right around 170,000, so it is clear to see that this report missed the mark.
Making the blow a bit softer was a revision on the part of September’s ADP employment report. After initially reporting that September saw a little more than 150,000 private-sector jobs added to the US economy, the data was revised upward to show more than 200,000 private-sector jobs added in September.
As for October’s weak data, ADP is saying that declines on the part of goods-producing workers, factory workers, and construction workers helped push today’s report into the sub-par range. Even though no one is writing home about today’s ADP report, it really isn’t as bad as it seems at face value. For one, last month’s revision was massive and something that should not be scoffed at. Secondly, any reading above 100,000 indicates that we, as an economy, are working closer to full employment. All in all, the labor market is still doing well and most are expecting Friday’s jobs data top reflect that sentiment.
Election Jitters Aid Metals Again
For what is really a second consecutive day, worries with regard to the possible outcome of the US Presidential election are dominating the headlines. Ever since the FBI launched a probe into Hillary Clinton’s private email server for yet another time, people are wondering just how sure a thing her election is. Just last week you would have been hard-pressed to find even one person (assuming biases were set to the side) who thought that Trump had a chance of walking away victorious. Now, with polls tightening and no one really sure what the FBI is out to prove, the election is as much of a toss-up now as it has ever been.
Put another way, the FBI probe is actively decreasing the chances that Hillary Clinton will be in line to assume the Presidential position come November 8th. As such, Donald Trump’s likelihood of winning is on the rise. As discussed a few times before, the uncertainty that comes with a Trump Presidential victory is something that will very much help safe-haven metals. In addition to this uncertainty alone driving spot values forward, stocks in the US and elsewhere as well as the US Dollar are doing quite poorly today too. All in all, today offered metals quit the opportunity to surge across key price points. As gold edges over the $1,300/ounce mark and silver pushes closer to $19/ounce, the next few days will be crucial in determining whether things continue along the same path or if we are going to see a corrective bounce take spot values down to where they were when the week began.
Wrap-Up
Though this week is more than halfway over at this point, there is still quite a bit to talk about. For one, we need to discuss what exactly went down in the FOMC meeting. Even more important, however, is the release of the latest US employment growth info from the month of October. This is a piece of data that will assuredly catch the undivided attention of the marketplace.
