Gold Spot Price Open: $1,232
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,209
Change in Gold Spot Price: -$23
Silver Spot Price Open: $17.36
Silver Spot Price Close: $16.47
Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.89
Precious metals suffered hefty losses yet again on Tuesday thanks to better-performing global equities and a quiet week of trading. When all was said and done, gold lost well over twenty dollars while silver’s losses accumulated to closer to a whole dollar. Platinum and palladium also lost value today, though losses ranged from 5 to 30 dollars as spot values fluctuated dramatically all day.
Stocks, the Dollar Edge Higher
For yet another day, stocks in the US and Europe edged higher thanks to the relative calm that has been created by the Ukrainian ceasefire and Greek austerity/debt reduction talks. With that being said, however, progress made in the ongoing Greek austerity talks is especially limited simply because the EU is taking such a hardline stance on Greece’s desire for more relaxed austerity measures. The EU, particularly Germany, want nothing to do with Greece backing out of the measures that the previous government agreed to back in 2012. Unfortunately for everyone involved, if something is not done soon, Greece may soon face a credit crunch that will force it out of the EU. Of course, we will continue to keep a close eye on anything and everything happening regarding Greece’s financial and economic situation(s).
For the first time in a few trading sessions, the US Dollar was able to post some solid gains. This, coupled with the continued progress of US equities, is something that is persisting in taking attention away from the precious metals market. The Dollar was able to gain today thanks to a slight sell-off on the part of crude oil. Crude oil has been gaining recently, so most think that today’s sell-off is associated with profit-taking after recent gains more than anything else. Precious metals investors will be best-served to pay attention to the price action of both the USD Index and crude oil as it will continue to have an impact on metals’ spot values…especially during this slow week.
FOMC Minutes Take Center Stage
Through only two days, it is clear to see that the week is shaping up to be slow from an economic data standpoint. To some extent, that will change on Wednesday upon the release of the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s latest meeting. Though the minutes will garner their usual attention, I am not expecting that much will come from them.
As you could have probably guessed, the only thing investors will be looking for from tomorrow’s minutes is more clues regarding the future of interest rates in the United States. Still, I really do not think the minutes will have much of an impact on the market and will likely be deemed mostly a non-factor. But with so little for investors to pay attention to, even the slightest hints could send the market into a bit of a frenzy.
Wrap-Up
For yet another day, investors witnessed a marketplace that was mostly devoid of activity. A stronger US Dollar as well as stronger stocks weighed on precious metals and pushed spot values down to lows not seen in well over a month. It will be interesting to see, as the week plays out, if metals can recover from today’s losses or not.
