Gold Spot Price Open: $1,337
Gold Spot Price Close: $1,324
Change in Gold Spot Price: -$13
Silver Spot Price Open: $21.95
Silver Spot Price Close: $21.76
Change in Silver Spot Price:-$0.19
Gold and silver posted losses on Thursday as the US Dollar made some positive gains. When all was said and done, gold lost about 13 dollars while silver’s losses were about 19 cents.
Some US economic data was released on Thursday, though the results of the data were mixed to say the least. The weekly jobless claims report came back a bit better than expected, but this was offset due to the fact that third-quarter US GDP came in weaker than expected. The positive report of the two, the weekly jobless claims report, worked to help boost the value of the USD. More momentum being given to the greenback meant that, for a large majority of the day, gold and silver experienced heavy selling pressure.
Jeffrey Lacker, the Richmond Fed’s president, made a statement this week saying that he is surprised that his fellow Federal Reserve members have not decided upon tapering QE. Other members of the Fed also expressed their surprise with the retention of QE, because before last week it seemed as though there was no way of avoiding some type of change or alteration to QE.
Investor attention this week has now shifted to the issues of the US budget and debt ceiling. At this point, members of the US government cannot decide on either matter, and if this remains the same we will be forced to witness a government shutdown early next week. This is a double-edged sword because while the matter of America’s budget is a pressing one, the upcoming borrowing limit is also in need of careful attention. With so much to do in such a limited amount of time, it is looking more and more like we will witness a government shutdown, even if it is only temporary.
