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    JM Bullion Gold and Silver Market Update (2/16/16)

    Gold Spot Price Open: $1,211

    Gold Spot Price Close: $1,205

    Change in Gold Spot Price: -$6

    Silver Spot Price Open: $15.40

    Silver Spot Price Close: $15.32

    Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.08

    After falling steadily on Monday, precious metals regained some stability on Tuesday. When all was said and done, gold lost about six dollars while silver declined by close to ten cents. Platinum and palladium finished the day having posted losses, though neither metal lost more than $5.

    Safe-Haven Demand Fades Away

    Even though yesterday’s losses did not carry over into today, it became evident that the safe-haven demand that carried precious metals through last week might have just dried up in front of our eyes. Equity indexes across the globe are already ticking slightly upward and this is not going to play in the favor of precious metals. Though it may not look like it at the present moment in time, precious metals still have a good bit of momentum on their side.

    For one, it is becoming increasingly evident that the Fed is not going to move to rapidly increase interest rates throughout this year. Prior to the New Year, the Fed’s plan involved the consistent increasing of interest rates throughout the course of this year and into 2017. With economic data going as it has through the first nearly 2 months of the year the expectation is that the Fed will hold off on rate hikes until at least April. The gradual raising of rates, as opposed to a month on month increase, is something that lends itself to precious metals. If shaky and turbulent economic conditions persist in conjunction with the delayed raising of interest rates then gold and silver may have a lot more room to venture forward.

    Homebuilder Confidence Decreases in January

    Homebuilders are feeling less confident about the prospect of selling homes in the Spring according to a study that was made public today. Homebuilders are expecting a profitable and active Spring, but the rough economic start to this year has most thinking that this Spring will be a bit less robust than originally projected.

    The National Association of Home Builders sentiment index was made public today and fell down to a 58 in February—down three points from what was recorded in December. To put this reading in perspective, January marked the first time since June of 2015 where the sentiment index dipped below 60. Any reading above 50 indicates that homebuilders are confident about potential future sales, so it is worth noting that the reading is slowly but surely inching downward towards an even 50.

    Major factors holding precious metals back today were a higher USD index as well as better-performing equities in the United States. Both of the aforementioned markets suffered during a majority of last week which helped both gold and silver make massive advances. If economic conditions in the US continue improving like they have through the first few days of this week gold and silver may continue to back off.

    Wrap-Up

    All in all, precious metals had an ok day on Tuesday and were able to halt the slide that began on Monday. Thanks to the Presidents Day holiday being celebrated on Monday things were a bit quieter, but now we are back into the full swing of things. As far as economic data is concerned there isn’t all that much to be dealt, but we are looking ahead to Thursday’s jobless claims data as it will offer up insight into how the employment sector of the economy is performing. Other than that, the last three days of the week are shaping up to be mostly quiet.

    Disclaimer: All Market Updates are provided as a third party analysis and do not necessarily reflect the explicit views of JM Bullion Inc. and should not be construed as financial advice.

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