Gold Spot Price Open: $1,336
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,309
Change in Gold Spot Price: +$27
Silver Spot Price Open: $20.34
Silver Spot Price Close: $19.98
Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.36
Gold and silver were hit pretty hard on Monday, mostly thanks to a continuation of sell-offs and chart consolidation by the market. When all was said and done, gold lost more than 25 dollars while silver declined by nearly 40 cents.
Monday was kick-started by another batch of poor economic data from China, this time in the form of the most recent HSBC preliminary purchasing managers’ index. The HSBC’s reading was once again below fifty and actually at its lowest point in three quarters of a year. This adds to a long run of poor economic data from China recently and adds credence to the belief that the second largest economy is experiencing a significant decline.
Now, investors are beginning to wonder whether the Chinese central bank will employ stimulus measures as a way to augment any damage currently being done to the Chinese economic infrastructure.
The situation across Ukraine is still being watched by the marketplace, but is still sitting comfortably on the back burner. Over the weekend, Russian troops were seen ousting Ukrainian troops from military locations throughout Crimea. Even as early as this morning the government in Ukraine recalled all troops from the region. As Russia continues its takeover of the heavily disputed region, the investing world will still watch with bated breath.
Investors are also beginning to realize the reality in Janet Yellen’s words last week. The fact that interest rates may be risen within the year and that easy money will be done away with is worrying to precious metals investors. Rising interest rates will undoubtedly make the ownership of precious metals more costly and thus less appealing to the market as a whole.
