Gold and Silver Market Update (1/17/2015) – Golden Eagle
Last week was a mixed one for the precious metal market; out of the five main prices three were up and two down. In volume terms it was solidly positive though, with gold and silver both gaining significantly and platinum picking up value too. Overall we think it was very positive; the big worry over the last few months has been the sluggish performance of the high-volume metals, but so far this year they’ve been doing a lot better. Has a corner been turned? It’s too early to say that, but anyone who followed our advice recently and bought cheap silver and gold has already turned a nice little profit.
Gold has been heading generally up since the start of the year, but not very convincingly. That changed last week as the spot price rose by nearly $57, closing at $1,280.30. Most of the gain came at the beginning and end of the week, with a slight dip in the middle, but overall it was a strong performance. There are still analysts predicting $1,000 gold this year but the prospect has faded for now. If this continues it’s an excellent opportunity to get a quick return; we’ve been suggesting that investors stock up on gold and silver at the recent bargain prices, and anyone who bought into that has already realized a nice profit. We think there’s more to come.
Turning to silver the week’s figures show pretty much the same, but more so. While gold gained nearly 5 percent in value silver was closer to 7 percent, an incredible result after so many depressing weeks. It’s still too soon to say that the white metal is out of the woods but for the moment it’s heading the way it should be. The spot price still doesn’t reflect silver’s true value and has diverged further from gold than market conditions explain; most observers think strong industrial and jewelry demand is negating any influence from the strong dollar, which usually drives down metal prices. Whatever the cause silver rose by $1.27 to end the week at $17.78.
Platinum had an unexciting start to the week with a modest upward movement on Monday and Tuesday followed by a sharp dip. However it rallied well in the last two days of trading to close at $1,263. That’s $36 better than the week before, not spectacular but reasonable enough considering the rough time the other platinum group metals had.
Palladium seemed to outperform most of the sector in late 2014 but its winning streak seems to have taken a break for now. The week started off well, with the spot price climbing to $815 by Tuesday, but then the bottom dropped out the market and by Friday it had tumbled by $60. That’s an 8 percent loss and takes palladium close to a three-month low.
Finally rhodium also lost ground, closing the week $30 at 1,090. That’s not as bad as palladium –the price is around where it was a month ago – but there’s a definite downward trend emerging. While we wouldn’t recommend selling at the moment it’s not the time to buy either – go for gold or silver instead.
So overall a generally positive week, but with some losses in the lower volume metals. The rest of the month should be interesting but, for now, gold and especially silver are looking like the ones to go for.
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. 
