Gold Spot Price Open: $1,188
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,183
Change in Gold Spot Price: -$5
Silver Spot Price Open: $16.08
Silver Spot Price Close: $16.10
Change in Silver Spot Price: +$0.02
Precious metals posted mixed results by day’s end, but did not finish too far from where they began things on Thursday. When all was said and done, gold lost about five dollars while silver managed to gain a few pennies. Platinum and palladium finished down on the day, with platinum losing closer to ten dollars.
IMF/EU Not Any Closer to Deal with Greece
We talk about Greece almost every day, and it seems as though that is not going to change anytime soon. Today, we have received reports that Greece is no closer to a deal with EU and IMF creditors with regard to the unlocking of multiple billions of dollars worth of bailout funds. In fact, IMF negotiators returned to Washington DC in what looks like an admission that a deal is not going to be reached.
Greece has yet to propose a deal to creditors that is at all enticing, and is further hurting their own cause by irrationally spending the little money that they have left. If Greece doesn’t reach a deal sometime in the immediate future, they will miss out on 7.2 billion euros. Gerry Rice, IMF spokesperson, commented on the situation by saying, “The IMF never leaves the table. We remain engaged, but the ball is very much in Greece’s court right now. There are major differences between us in most key areas. There has been no progress in narrowing these differences recently.”
As expected, today’s remarks are in stark contrast to those made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday. In case you missed it, Ms. Merkel commented yesterday saying that she would not prefer Greece’s exit from the EU. Over the course of the next few weeks it will be truly interesting to see what happens with Greece.
Dollar Gains on Upbeat Economic Data
Though the IMF’s remarks and actions today might lead one to believe that this trading session might be a positive one for precious metals, the Dollar’s performance today ensured otherwise. Thanks to some better than expected economic data from the US, the Dollar broke its downtrend and made decent gains today.
According to data released today, retail sales in the United States in May increased by 1.2% on an annualized basis. Compared to expectations of an even 1% gain, today’s data was perceived as being slightly upbeat. Continuing the good news was a report which indicated imports during May increased for the first time in ten months. Though a somewhat weak weekly jobless claims report put a damper on the overall mood, it must be noted that the current level of weekly jobless claims is indicative of an improving labor market. Of course, as expected, today’s US economic data only added more strength to the belief that interest rates in the United States may be raised at some point this year.
Wrap-Up
All in all, today was more of a miss than anything else for precious metals. On one hand, there was news that drove safe-haven demand, but the upbeat economic data from the US counteracted that effectively. Tomorrow brings with it the end of the week, and it will be especially telling if gold and silver can somehow manage to eek out some gains. Realistically, I think today’s upbeat economic data may further hurt metals tomorrow.