Gold Spot Price Open: $1,055
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,068
Change in Gold Spot Price: +$13
Silver Spot Price Open: $13.83
Silver Spot Price Close: $14.17
Change in Silver Spot Price: +$0.34
Precious metals bounced back on Friday after losing considerable value on Thursday. When all was said and done, gold picked up more than ten dollars while silver managed to gain nearly 40 cents. Platinum and palladium followed suit by making gains on Friday, but platinum’s gains far outpaced those of palladium.
Japan Says No to Extra QE
Like the EU, Japan’s central bank is currently pursuing tactics that are aimed at devaluing the Yen and spurring economic growth. The central bank of Japan had their monthly policy meeting on Friday and decided against adding on to current Quantitative Easing measures. Investors widely expected the central bank to bolster QE, so the move came as a bit of a shock and ended up driving up the value of the Yen.
Unfortunately for the Dollar, the Yen’s advances made it difficult for gains to be made. It will be interesting to see how the Japanese economy fares going forward. For now, most of the world is suffering from a bit of an economic slowdown, and Japan is not immune to this. If this persists, it is widely believed that the Bank of Japan will have no choice but to further ease monetary policy sometime in the near future.
Market Reflects on Interesting Week
There were very few major news stories released this week, and even fewer that did not have to do with the US economy. As we look forward to the next two weeks, it is highly likely that precious metals will continue to struggle due to current economic conditions. With the price of crude oil falling and equity markets the world over surging, gold and silver are going to have an extremely difficult time making any substantial, lasting gains.
So long as the USD continues to make gains, gold and silver will be put into an even tougher position. On the whole, however, the next two weeks seem as though they are going to be extremely quiet and typical for the holiday season. With Christmas falling on next Friday and the New Years holiday coming only a week later, most investors will be spending time with their family and friends rather than picking apart economic data.
The possibility of Iranian crude oil making it to the marketplace, something that may happen soon, is yet another factor that is hurting precious metals. You see, the global marketplace is seeing crude oil’s value decline due to the simple fact that there is more oil on the market than is currently being demanded. If Iranian oil is able to be sold in Western marketplaces, this supply-glut will grow even larger and the price of crude oil and most other commodities will continue to fall. This is all, of course, unless OPEC does something to limit the output of refined oil from member countries. This did not occur last month, and does not seem like it will occur in the future simply because OPEC nations, many of whom are struggling economically, are more interested in making money than satisfying OPEC agreements.
Wrap-Up
When the dust settles after this week, precious metals were clearly sent through a pattern of ups and downs, and ultimately finished on a slight upward trend. With that being said, most experts are anticipating that spot values will more quickly fall than make any sustained gains.
