Gold Spot Price Open: $1,250
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,248
Change in Gold Spot Price: -$2
Silver Spot Price Open: $17.70
Silver Spot Price Close: $17.73
Change in Silver Spot Price: +$0.03
Gold and silver started Friday moving downward ever so slightly, and by day’s end things really hadn’t changed much. When all was said and done, gold was down by a dollar or two while silver added a few cents. Platinum and palladium finished the day mixed, with platinum losing about a dollar while palladium added roughly 10.
Upbeat Durable Goods Data Dealt
According to the US Department of Commerce, orders for durable goods in the United States increased by $3.9 billion in February, or by 1.7% from the month before. After January saw durable goods uptick by more than 2%, experts were anticipating that February’s data might be a bit weaker. This data having beat expectations did not do precious metals any favors, especially during the early parts of the day on Friday.
In addition to this data, gold and silver are also continuing to suffer from a bit of profit-taking. Profit-taking after recently realized gains has been a theme all week long, but especially through the latter stages of this week. Though it is not good to see spot values losing ground, it is encouraging to see that the ground being lost is of no real significance as we are still looking at weekly gains.
Upbeat German, Eurozone Data Dealt
In a week that has been marred by a lack of fresh inputs, we have decided to turn our focus to some economic data from Europe. On Friday, we received a report that indicated economic activity across Europe has been on the up and up.
According to the HIS Composite PMI reading of economic activity in Europe, the private sector of the whole of the EU economy reached a reading of 56.7 for March. Not only is this the best such reading we have seen in more than 5 years, it is .7 better than February’s reading. For those who may not know, any PMI reading above 50 suggests that the economic sector in question is growing, while any reading below the 50 threshold suggests the opposite. A similar reading regarding Europe’s services sector show its best reading in almost 6 years.
In total, these figures—as well as a few others—have led IHS Markit to expect a Q1 GDP growth for the Eurozone of .7%. While this is not exactly the most robust figure, Europe is still trying to get its economic feet underneath them, so any sign of growth is viewed as a positive. To round things out from Europe, the only piece of data that wasn’t worth writing home about was with regard to manufacturing, which has struggled through the first few months of 2017.
Healthcare Vote Back on the Table
After Thursday concluded with no healthcare vote having taken place, investors and market watchers alike have turned their attention to Friday. The overarching concern in the eyes of Republicans who support the new healthcare bill is that they currently do not have enough support from their own party. Despite a majority of the House being members of the GOP, not everyone agrees with every provision of the new bill.
As such, the GOP gave themselves another day to garner as much support as they could. Still, in the end, the vote did not go the way of the Republicans and President Trump’s ability to get large pieces of legislation passed is seriously being called into question.
Wrap-Up
All things considered, this was an extremely slow week that was devoid of any major pieces of economic data. The one big event, the healthcare vote, ended up being a bit more lackluster than most had anticipated. In the end, it is safe to say that the events surrounding the healthcare bill ended up providing a bit of underlying support for the precious metals market.
