Gold Spot Price Open: $1,317
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,320
Change in Gold Spot Price: +$3
Silver Spot Price Open: $17.84
Silver Spot Price Close: $18.27
Change in Silver Spot Price: +$0.43
Precious metals began and finished the day making gains, however out of gold and silver, it was silver that was the clear winner on the day. When all was said and done, gold managed to gain about 3 dollars while silver appreciated by almost 45 cents. Platinum and palladium both gained on the day as well, with platinum making gains of roughly 10 dollars while palladium added little more than 5.
Metals Bulls in Control as Central Bank Support Deemed Necessary
As has been the case for almost a week now, precious metals bulls are in clear control. While it is the BRExit referendum that has sparked the current rally, the reason it has persisted has very little to do with the UK. You see, investors are seeking out more safe-haven assets thanks to the fact that they have no idea what the future holds for major economic powers around the world. As far as the US is concerned, there are now people who do not anticipate seeing rates hiked at all before 2016 is brought to an end. Seeing as, only a few weeks ago, people were under the impression that the next rate hike would come in July, this is a massive change of opinion in a short period of time.
Thanks to the economic uncertainty created by the UK’s leaving the European Union, most market experts feel as though central banks across most major economies will need to step in and lend support before long. With that being said, we have made the 180 turnaround from expecting to see less Federal Reserve support for the US economy to possibly seeing even more of it. So long as rate hikes are being put on the back-burner and rate cuts are what investors are talking about, you can expect that both gold and silver will fare well.
Even this week’s small batch of upbeat employment data from the United States has not been enough to take momentum away from precious metals. What will be interesting, however, will be to see just how far gold and silver can extend their recent rally.
European Economic Confidence Lags
As if this should come as any sort of surprise, the confidence citizens of Europe have in their respective and collective economies is showing signs of weakness. The European Commission, via a report made public today, explained that June saw consumer confidence across the Eurozone dip slightly. Though the drop-off wasn’t necessarily anything to write home about, it must be noted that the surveys compiling this report were completed and filed prior to the UK announcing the results of their recent referendum.
It will be interesting to see the result of July’s consumer confidence report as one is led to believe that the UK’s departure from the EU may have had a negative impact on what people expect out of the EU and the UK going forward.
Wrap-Up
All in all, Wednesday was a light day as far as economic activity and news was concerned. There was very little in the way of fresh economic data, though with the end of the month only a day away, you can bet that the data will stream in fast and heavy come Tuesday and the whole of next week. Being that the Independence Day holiday in the United States falls on this upcoming Monday, we are already seeing a quieter US marketplace thanks to people getting an early start on vacations. By the time things pick back up on Tuesday, however, you can expect to be greeted by a large quantity of economic data. Still, it is not looking like much is going to chance the current outlook on rate hikes in the US.
