Gold Spot Price Open: $1,296

Gold Spot Price Close: $1,293

Change in Gold Spot Price: -$3

Silver Spot Price Open: $19.57

Silver Spot Price Close: $19.41

Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.16

Gold and silver both declined slightly on the final day of what has been an interesting trading week to say the least. When all was said and done, gold lost only about three dollars while silver’s losses were a little more than fifteen cents.

US equities started picking up on Friday due to the growing belief that the US economy is, in fact, picking up momentum as the year progresses. Recent economic data has been indicative of an improving economy and has, in turn, ended up putting some mild downward pressure on spot gold and silver. The better outlook on the US economy by members of the Fed and investors will more than likely mean tapering will continue as planned throughout the duration of the year.

Also coming to the aid of equities is the fact that interest rates in the US will remain at steady levels for the foreseeable future. As is almost always the case, surging equities will almost always translate into subdued spot values.

With all this in mind, it is important that we do not forget about the crisis in Ukraine. Though it has mostly stayed out of the news this week, tensions are as high as ever and the situation, generally speaking, is far from resolved. Just recently, there have been reports of Ukrainian citizens attempting to oust pro-Russian rebels from towns and buildings they have occupied throughout the southern and eastern parts of the country. The citizens’ efforts have been met with limited success, but it is a clear sign that maybe, just maybe, a majority of Ukrainians do not want to join the Russian Federation. So long as tensions are high and violence continues to escalate, investors will have no choice but to keep the crisis in Ukraine in the back of their minds.