Gold & Silver Market 9-13-2015
Global financial markets are still turbulent, and that continues to affect the precious metals sector. Last week saw mixed results, with silver again managing to hold its value and palladium managing to gain, while the other key spot prices all headed down. In general it’s too confused a picture to identify any real trends, but there are opportunities to make some money on short-term fluctuations and playing a longer game is likely to be very profitable.
Firstly gold, where the week saw several changes of fortune. Monday trading saw a slow recovery apparently underway, but that all changed Tuesday when the US markets reopened after the Labor Day weekend. Gold immediately fell sharply, then fluctuated for the rest of the period. At one point on Friday it dropped below $1,100, but by the close of business it was back up to $1,108.70. Compared to the previous Friday that’s a loss of $13.30, or just over one percent – enough to be noticeable, but not serious. Added to the two weeks before it does become more significant, but gold has still weathered the crisis better than equities have.
Silver, on the other hand, held up quite well again. A midweek spike held the promise of major gains, but sadly it fell back again on Thursday. Even so it managed a 3.5 cent rise over its previous close, ending the week at $14.615. It’s hard to come to any solid conclusions on a couple of weeks’ numbers, but there’s a chance the market is realizing that silver is seriously undervalued right now. Some analysts are predicting a strong recovery over the next year, and if investor confidence is returning that’s a strong possibility.
The platinum group sent very mixed signals last week. Platinum itself was emphatically down, losing another $21 to close at $970. That’s its lowest price in over a month and we expect it to fall further over the next couple of weeks, with a new five-year low a real possibility. Industrial demand is strong but investment purchases are the main price driver and those are looking very weak.
Meanwhile palladium looked a lot better. The spot price, already climbing over the weekend, continued up through Tuesday. On Wednesday it fell back, but bounced and headed higher again. By the close of trading palladium was selling for $594 an ounce, up $15 on the previous period’s disappointing finish.
That just leaves rhodium, and yet again it didn’t fail to underwhelm. The price showed practically no movement all week, closing where it had started at $780. If you’re holding any rhodium it’s worth hanging on to it, but we don’t recommend buying more until it wakes up.
So yet again a confusing week, but with a few bright spots visible. Silver is looking much firmer than it has done for a while, and the jump in palladium hopefully means it’s hit a hard floor and started a recovery. Expect more confusion this week, but by the end of the month the picture should be clearer and trends might be starting to emerge.
About the Author: Clint Stelfox
Clint is the director of marketing at Golden Eagle Coins. Son of Richard Stelfox, co-founder of the company, Clint has been living and breathing coins his entire life. After trading for a Philadelphia Stock Exchange firm for several years Clint returned to give Golden Eagle the online presence it has today. 
