Gold Spot Price Open: $1,302
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,310
Change in Gold Spot Price: +$8
Silver Spot Price Open: $19.58
Silver Spot Price Close: $19.64
Change in Silver Spot Price: +$0.06
Gold and silver both improved on Monday to start out the first full week of May on a positive note. When all was said and done, gold was up by about 8 dollars and silver was up by more than five cents.
Violence in Ukraine was given a boost over the weekend as the Ukrainian military worked to oust pro-Russian rebels from various locations across the eastern half of the country. Violence over the weekend has resulted in dozens of deaths on both the rebel and Ukrainian sides. After Russia recently made it clear that any violence against pro-Russian forces would be treated as an advance on Russia itself, it will be interesting to see if the Kremlin responds in any way to Ukraine’s military action. As you might have guessed, safe-haven demand and thus physical buying of gold and silver has seen a noticeable increase through the first day of this week.
Most Asian equities traded lower on Monday as a result of the downbeat Chinese manufacturing data which was released last Thursday. Despite recent Chinese data being weaker than market expectations, numerous reports claim that the Chinese economy will take over the United States’ before the end of the year.
In Europe, it was reported that producer prices fell in March for a third time this year. Deflation is still a widespread and real concern for much of the EU and is adding to the likelihood that the European Central Bank may soon announce some sort of monetary stimulus for the region. We may find out more about possible stimulus measures later this week when the ECB meets for its monthly policy meeting. In all, this week is not expected to emit a plethora of economic data which will more than likely result in investors paying closer attention to the crisis in Ukraine.
