Gold Spot Price Open: $1,321
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,317
Change in Gold Spot Price: -$4
Silver Spot Price Open: $21.14
Silver Spot Price Close: $21.19
Change in Silver Spot Price: +$0.05
Gold and silver spot values moved in opposite directions today, but did not stray too far from even by the time US markets closed. When all was said and done, gold lost about 4 dollars while silver’s spot value was able to pick up a nickel.
Some profit-taking is to blame for gold’s decline today, but more eyes are beginning to focus on a report from China indicating that a more than $15 billion illegal gold financing scheme has been uncovered and squashed by Chinese authorities. The scheme, which is said to have been in the works for more than 2 years, is now causing uncertainty to ripple across the market with regard to the yellow metal. Many market analysts are attributing today’s slight losses to the Chinese report and will continue to focus on that situation as it unfolds over the coming days and weeks.
The civil war in Iraq remains at the forefront of the market’s attention and is continuing to drive the risk-aversion that has spread like wildfire over the past few weeks. Though reports of violence in Iraq are streaming in much more infrequently over the past few days, the situation is still far from resolved and will likely work its way back into headlines before too long. With US military advisers on the ground and more on their way, we might see the tide of the fighting shift a bit. Still, with ISIS spreading out across the territory they now control, combating the militants will be no easy task.
Another slightly bearish factor for precious metals today was a US Dollar that performed just a bit better than it has any other day this week. Fewer weekly jobless claims were filed this week according to the US Labor Department, and that alone provided some lift for the recently battered greenback. As we head into the final day of the week it is looking like things will remain quiet as no major economic data from the US or elsewhere is expected to surface. With that said, however, there is an EU meeting going on today and into tomorrow with topics of discussion ranging from the possible helping of Ukraine and sanctions being imposed on Russia. When the meeting concludes tomorrow we will have a much better idea what, if anything, is going to come as a result of this two-day summit.
