Gold Spot Price Open: $1,293
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,276
Change in Gold Spot Price: -$17
Silver Spot Price Open: $19.54
Silver Spot Price Close: $19.49
Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.05
Precious metals conceded a lot of value today due to yesterday’s FOMC minutes and the stronger equity markets that came along with it. When all was said and done, gold lost more than fifteen dollars while silver lost roughly 5 cents. Palladium added a little more than ten dollars, but platinum ended the day having lost almost the same amount.
Upbeat Economic Data Pressures Metals
Precious metals were seen conceding a lot of value before US markets opened today as more global investors had a chance to react to yesterday’s hawkish FOMC minutes from their latest meeting. In case you missed it, the FOMC’s wording during their last meeting made it clear that the US labor situation has been improving. Due to this, many investors were once again convinced that interest rates might be on the rise sooner rather than later.
Today, some economic data released earlier in the morning only lent more credence to the belief that interest rates may be risen sometime not too far off in the future. According to today’s data, existing home sales were reported as being their best in ten months in July. On top of that, some rumors began circulating with regard to weekly jobless claims in the United States falling this week. Though there hasn’t been all that much economic data made public this week, what little data has surfaced has ended up putting even more pressure on precious metals spot values.
In recent weeks, the factors providing support for precious metals have been far outweighed by those that are pressuring them. Despite a lot of geopolitical tension coming from the Middle East and Europe, upbeat economic data and more focus on interest rate talks have piled on the selling pressure for precious metals. Unless something unexpected comes to take investor attention away from the perceived “imminent” interest rate hike, it seems as though the selling pressure may be here to stay.
USD Holds Ahead of Jackson Hole Meeting
After approaching a more than 11-month high on Wednesday, the US Dollar was seen conceding a bit of that value today. The reason for this is due to the fact that the attention of the marketplace is now shifting towards the global central bankers meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The meeting kicked off late today, but it is likely that we will not hear much news with regard to the speeches being made at the meeting until sometime tomorrow afternoon.
Despite the USD’s stagnation today, US equity markets continued adding value. By day’s end, the S&P, Nasdaq, and Dow had all posted impressive gains for the day.
With Janet Yellen and ECB president Mario Draghi expected to make speeches, there is no doubting that investors from around the world will be paying attention to the meeting in Jackson Hole. Ms. Yellen’s speech will easily be the most important part of the meeting, but there is still no clear way of saying whether her remarks will offer any real insight into the future of monetary policy in the United States.
Wrap-Up
Looking ahead to the last day of the week, it should come as no surprise that the focus of the investing world will be on the global central bankers meeting being held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Other than that, there really isn’t going to be too much going on tomorrow. Looking ahead to next week, it is likely that things will remain almost as slow as they were for a majority of this week. There isn’t all that much economic data on the table and, as such, the market will play host to limited trading activity.
