Gold Spot Price Open: $1,298

Gold Spot Price Close: $1,294

Change in Gold Spot Price: -$4

Silver Spot Price Open: $19.65

Silver Spot Price Close: $19.59

Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.06

Gold and silver finished the day on Tuesday modestly lower as the US Dollar rebounded in the wake of a somewhat weak piece of German economic data. When all was said and done, gold lost about 4 dollars while silver dropped a little more than 5 cents.

When markets first opened, the spot values of gold and silver were given an almost immediate boost as the latest retail sales report for the United States came back much weaker than anticipated. It was reported that April retail sales grew by only one tenth of one percent compared to expectations for nearly .5% growth. While this initial piece of data did well to lift the spot values of gold and silver slightly, a report from Europe released early today put an end to any gains metals made.

The German ZEW economic expectations index was made public earlier this morning and fell far short of market expectations. This most recent economic report out of Europe is only working to add fuel to the fire that is speculation with regard to whether or not the European Central Bank will implement monetary stimulus measures in the next few weeks. Widespread deflation has been a concern for European investors for some time now and as prices continue to decline an increasing number of people are calling for some sort of stimulus measure to be taken. Today's report put some downward pressure on the euro currency which, in turn, prompted the USD to make gains and more or less end metals' hopes of ending the day on a positive note.

The crisis in Ukraine has not evolved too much thus far this week but tensions still do remain quite high throughout the region. As has been the case for a few months now, many fear that the situation will only grow worse before it begins to get any better.