Gold Spot Price Open: $1,158
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,154
Change in Gold Spot Price: -$4
Silver Spot Price Open: $16.21
Silver Spot Price Close: $15.88
Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.33
Precious metals ended up moving backwards on what will be the final day of trading for the year. When all was said and done, gold ended up down by about 4 dollars while silver ended up losing about 33 cents. Platinum and palladium both gained, but neither metal added much more than a few dollars.
Metals End Year Poorly, But Make Annual Gains
This final week of 2016 trading was, for the most part, uneventful. There were a few pieces of noteworthy economic data dealt, but due to the light nature of trading activity the reaction to those data points was more muted than anything else.
The real talking point on Friday was that it seemed as though metals were going to finish the year having made nice strides forward. For gold, annual gains are edging in on 9%. Regardless of how much gold appreciated by over the last 12 months, the fact of the matter is that this is going to be the first time in 3 years that gold has finished a 12 month period in a better position than it was in when it started. For many, this is difficult to believe simply because gold, silver, and most other precious metals have had a tough go of things the past few months. Despite this, the first parts of the year saw gains that were enough to see metals through to today.
As we look ahead to 2017, it is difficult for anyone to put a finger on what to expect as far as precious metals are concerned. On one hand, the fact that OPEC is actively working to lift crude oil prices is something that lends itself to gold and silver, but on the other hand, the Dollar’s continued strength is keeping the pressure on. With that being said, the Dollar has been rallying for the better part of 2 months now and it seems as though that rally might soon be coming to an end. If that is, indeed, the case, metals may stand to open the New Year in impressive fashion. For now, however, all we can do is speculate.
World Markets Quiet Ahead of Holiday Weekend
As has been a theme for the past two weeks, trading activity in the US and elsewhere around the world has been quiet. Today was no exception to that and was, in fact, a bit quieter than the previous 4 days. World stock markets are mixed, but truthfully they have not moved much at all today. As we look ahead to next week, expect a slow start to things before the year and month-end economic is dealt towards the middle and end of the week.
Wrap-Up
All in all, investors are looking ahead to next week because of the year-end data that is going to be dealt. As for what this data might mean for spot values, that much is up in the air. We are currently reflecting upon annual gains for precious metals, but 2017 is not looking quite as clear. There is a lot to look forward to, but perhaps nothing is more heavily anticipated than Donald Trump assuming the position of President of the United States. He is still the source of plenty of questions, and those will only be answered once he takes office towards the end of January.
