Gold Spot Price Open: $1,196
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,204
Change in Gold Spot Price: +$8
Silver Spot Price Open: $15.96
Silver Spot Price Close: $16.04
Change in Silver Spot Price: +$0.08
Precious metals ended the day modestly up thanks to safe-haven demand stemming from the Greek debt impasse. When all was said and done, gold managed to gain about 8 dollars while silver crossed over the $16/ounce threshold by way of an 8 cent gain. Platinum and palladium moved around by about a dollar apiece, but neither metal moved all that much.
Greek Debt Talks Going Poorly
A major theme in the marketplace this week is the status of the ongoing Greek debt talks. As you may or may not be aware, Greek government officials and members of the European Union and International Monetary Fund have been meeting through the better part of the last week to determine how Greece will pay back its outstanding debts. As of now, it is widely believed that unless debt repayments are restructured, it will be impossible for Greece to avoid defaulting on its debt obligations.
In most recent news, there were reports from Monday suggesting that Greek government officials instructed all state-owned and operated entities to commit their reserve cash to the country’s central bank. Though Greece has not come out and say whether this is true, the majority of the global marketplace has become convinced that there is a bit of a cash crunch being faced by the small Mediterranean nation. The global marketplace is continuing to pay close attention to the ongoing debt negotiations, but it is clear to see that things are not going well at all.
For now. this situation is not having all that much of an impact on global markets, but very well might in the near future. After all, the prospect of Greece leaving the European Union is something that investors may soon have to deal with in a very real way.
Dollar, Euro Flatten
Both the Euro and the US Dollar flattened a bit on a day that was mostly devoid of economic and geopolitical developments. The world is paying close attention to what is happening in Greece, but that situation has yet to have a real impact on many markets. The Euro, after making some minuscule gains against the USD, more or less flattened out and traded sideways for most of the day. The USD Index, which has, in truth, been conceding value recently, traded sideways for much of the day but was able to finish having made some ground.
Being that most believe the US Dollar Index has put in a market top, it isn’t widely expected that the greenback will make much of any sustained gains through the foreseeable future, but there is no guaranteeing such a belief. For now, we will just have to wait and see what factors are thrust into the forefront of investor’s minds.
Wrap-Up
Judging from the general lack of headlines being made through the first two days of this week, it goes without saying that things are a bit slower than usual. To be fair, there are not all that many markets-moving pieces of economic data for investors to talk about, and this is making for a global marketplace that is mostly devoid of big economic headlines. As we look ahead to the final three days of the trading week, it will be interesting to see what, if any, headlines make a splash across the global investing spectrum.