Gold Spot Price Open: $1,237
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,249
Change in Gold Spot Price: +$12
Silver Spot Price Open: $19.13
Silver Spot Price Close: $19.28
Change in Silver Spot Price:+$0.15
Gold and silver posted modest gains again on Tuesday thanks to the ongoing situation in Egypt and some economic data out of China. At the end of the day gold picked up about 12 dollars while silver gained roughly 3 nickels.
It was reported today that China’s inflation rate is steadily rising. The consumer price index in June for China was up 2.7% from the same point last year. This number is a bit more drastic than the expected 2.5% increase in the CPI. It was even more interesting to find that May’s CPI only rose by 2.1%, and this news caused some increased investor interest in precious metals. Precious metals are often utilized by investors as ways to protect themselves against inflation, and seeing that Chinese inflation is on the rise it would not be surprising to see demand for both gold and silver rise in the coming days and weeks.
This most recent bit of economic data out of China falls directly in line with rising bond yields in the United States. All in all rising inflation should not be a surprise to anyone as governments all over the world have been incessantly printing money without hesitation for the last few years.
The situation in Egypt has not seen any major alterations today, though tensions are still as high as ever. Pro-Morsi and Anti-Morsi legions have been clashing for the last 24 hours or so with little progress realized by either side. This situation in Egypt can quickly become a regional thing as many other Middle Eastern countries are seeing increased tensions lately. Investors and market watchers alike will be paying close attention to this situation as and widespread, large-scale eruptions of violence could mean for big news for precious metals.
Gold and silver could have potentially seen even larger gains if it weren’t for a higher US Dollar Index. The news stories and pieces of market-relevant information we will anxiously wait for in the last few days of the week include China’s most recent trade report as well as the minutes from the most recent US Federal Reserve FOMC Meeting.