Gold Spot Price Open: $1,229
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,229
Change in Gold Spot Price: NO CHANGE
Silver Spot Price Open: $15.53
Silver Spot Price Close: $15.37
Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.16
Precious metals finished the week much better than how they started it, and are heading into the weekend with some momentum. When all was said and done, gold ended the day where it began it while silver lost roughly 16 cents. Platinum and palladium lost value on the day but neither metal fell too far.
Interest Rate View Continues to Support Metals
Friday was one of the more lackluster days of the week and did not offer much in the way of fresh economic data. What did occur on Friday was continued speculation about the future of interest rates in the United States and what that means for precious metals. For now, most investors are not anticipating that we will see interest rate hikes until April, at the earliest. With that being said, even an April date for interest rate hikes raises some eyebrows seeing how poorly the global economy has been performing recently.
Despite all of the other factors to consider, precious metals are really going to have their fortunes dictated by how the world views the potential for further interest rate hikes. After all, the rally we have witnessed since just before the turn of the New Year is the direct result of the changing opinion regarding rates. With turbulent economic conditions and interest rates that are, for now, remaining put, investors naturally took a bit more interest in gold and silver investments.
Consumer Prices Rise in January
Now is the time when we might finally be seeing retailers charging a bit more, mostly thanks to some pricing and inflation data that was due out today. Officially, consumer prices in the US in January rose by an amount that had not been seen in more than 4 years. These prices exclude food and fuel prices, so consumers do not necessarily have to be concerned that prices at the pump are going to be on the rise.
Perhaps the most encouraging part of Friday’s report was the fact that consumer prices rising came as a result of many factors, not just one or two. The fact that all types of goods are seeing a price increase is something that really drives home the fact that the US economy is, in fact, performing quite well. Of course, we are currently seeing a lagging global economy do its best to derail any gains made by the US, but after viewing today’s economic data it seems as though the US is powering through.
With the overall unemployment level heading to an 8-year low in recent weeks, and wages showing some signs of growth for the first time in years, companies are beginning to test the waters and seeing if American consumers are willing to shell out a bit more cash for the goods they want. Clearly, as seen by January’s CPI data, consumers are responding by not skipping a beat. It will be interesting to see, as global economic conditions continue to deteriorate, whether US consumers will be as willing to spend their money. For now, however, it seems as though global market conditions are not having too much of an impact on the average American consumer.
Wrap-Up
All in all, Friday was more of a quiet day. Apart from the release of January’SCPI data investors did not have much fresh data to mull over and discuss. Having performed well throughout the last two days of the week, it will be intriguing to see of gold and silver can continue making gains on Monday or if things will correct themselves downward much like they did at the beginning of this 5-day trading session.
