Gold Spot Price Open: $1,196
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,183
Change in Gold Spot Price: -$13
Silver Spot Price Open: $16.13
Silver Spot Price Close: $15.84
Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.29
Precious metals opened up today posting minor losses, but those losses quickly compounded as the day wore on. When all was said and done, gold lost more than ten dollars while silver was down by almost 30 cents. Platinum and palladium also ended up with losses on the day, but those losses did not exceed 10 dollars.
Gold Declines, But Greek Uncertainty Limits Losses
As you can see, the last abbreviated week of trading in 2014 has gotten off to a rather poor start for precious metals. The day opened up with gold and silver posting minor losses, but by day’s end those losses began growing considerably. With the US Dollar gaining against rival currencies and all major US stock markets in the green, it is clear to see that the present market is quite bearish for gold and silver.
Perhaps limiting losses today was the fact that a looming Greek election is making for a very uncertain marketplace in Europe and around the world. With the Greek parliament having rejected the government’s candidate for the presidency, European stocks tumbled and the marketplace is very much on edge. The elections in Greece are still up in the air, and the market will continue to pay particularly close attention to what their outcome might be. As of now, it is widely believed that the anti-bailout Syriza party will win the election.
Stocks and Dollar Gain, Euro Holds
Though the USD gained against the yen on Monday, the Euro was able to add value against the USD thanks to investors who anticipated Greece wouldn’t elect a president and subsequently cashed in on short Euro positions. Essentially, those investors who had bet against the Euro in anticipation of what ended up happening in Greece were able to cash in on that bet. Though the Euro added some value today, that value addition was minor in nature.
It will be interesting to see how this unfolding situation in Greece will continue to affect the wider global marketplace. With very little else catching the attention of investors this week, it is likely that we will continue watching how the Greek elections unfold. With this week being shortened due to the New Year holiday, there is very little else that investors are going to be focusing on.
Wrap-Up
As expected, the beginning of this week played host to a quiet market atmosphere that was typical of a shortened holiday week. Gold and silver fell victim to decent losses thanks to better-performing stock indexes in the US as well as a US Dollar that made gains against a number of rival currencies. With little economic data on the table until after the New Year, I anticipate that the rest of this week will be just as quiet and subdued as today.
