Gold Spot Price Open: $1,208
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,204
Change in Gold Spot Price: -$4
Silver Spot Price Open: $17.05
Silver Spot Price Close: $16.83
Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.22
After Wednesday’s impressive gains, metals backed down a bit on Thursday thanks to a technical correction and some weaker crude oil prices. When all was said and done, gold lost about four dollars while silver declined by little more than twenty cents. Platinum and palladium finished the day mixed, but neither metal moved too far from where it began the day.
US Jobs Data On Deck
As has been the case all week long, investors are looking forward to tomorrow’s release of the Labor Department’s latest reading on employment stemming from the month of March. Being touted as possibly the biggest data release of the month, investors will look to the figures to see whether the Fed will raise interest rates this summer or wait until next year. Though, in all reality, the Fed’s decision is not this simple, the market has convinced itself that the nature of the United States’ employment situation will directly influence what the Fed plans on doing with interest rates and when it plans on doing it.
As it stands, the market is expecting somewhere around 250,000 jobs to have been created during March. If this figure seems a bit high, that is because it is. Some are skeptical that March’s employment figures will even come close to the 250,000 mark, and after yesterday’s ADP employment report came back far weaker than expected, those skeptics may very well be correct. Of course, that much remains to be seen and will be determined at some point mid-morning tomorrow.
Iran Nuclear Deal Reached
Despite venturing two days past the March 31st deadline, Iran and 6 other nations came to an agreement that outline what will need to be done before the end of June in order to institute a lasting nuclear deal between Iran and other world powers. What this all boils down to is the difference of opinion between those who think Iran has intentions of pursuing a nuclear weapon, and those who think Iran’s pursuits are strictly peaceful. While there is still a long way to go before a final deal is reached, most people are viewing today’s agreement as a step in the right direction.
For precious metals, this deal was not the best thing that could have happened on the day because it drove the price of crude oil downward somewhat. The reason for this is due to the fact that, if a lasting nuclear deal with Iran is reached, sanctions relating to Iran’s previous nuclear pursuits will be lifted and Iranian crude oil will finally be able to grace an already glutted market. Though we are still a far ways away from that happening, it is becoming a greater and greater possibility with each passing day.
Yellen’s Speech a Miss
Today, Fed chair Janet Yellen spoke at a community development conference and, as expected, her remarks were watched very closely by the market. Unfortunately for everyone, her speech mostly avoided the topics of interest rates and monetary policy, so no new clues regarding rate hikes were offered today. While that is true, April’s FOMC meeting is just around the corner and is sure to be one that is worth paying attention to.
Wrap-Up
As if it needs to be said again, the eyes of the market tomorrow will be firmly fixated on the Labor Department’s March employment report. While other economic data is bound to be made public tomorrow, I highly doubt that any of it will grip the market like the employment figures. Of course, as always, it will be interesting to see how tomorrow’s round of data affects spot values as we head into the weekend. At present, gold and silver are not in too bad of positions, but that much can change in the blink of an eye.
