Gold and Silver Market Update (10/13/14) – Golden Eagle
The precious metals market has made pretty depressing reading for the last few weeks, but at last there’s been some movement in the right direction. Last week saw gains for everything except rhodium; silver and gold in particular are looking a lot healthier than they have done in a while. It’s much too early to say that the worst is over, but it certainly looks better than it did last week.
Starting with gold, the price stayed stable when the markets opened on Monday – the recent trend has been for it to drop immediately – then started to climb as the Dow Jones and FTSE fell. Things slowed down on Thursday and Friday but the spot price still gained $32.20 over the previous week to close at $1,223. That’s a 2.6 percent gain, not spectacular but definitely a lot healthier than the small upswing three weeks ago. If it can hold or improve that price through this week an increase in confidence will be well justified.
Silver also recovered, although not as much – it finished the week at $17.39, up 53 cents on the previous period. It still has a long way to go to make up for its dismal performance since August, of course, but this is a start. It was starting to look as if confidence in silver had been fatally weakened, raising the prospect of a fall to $15 or even lower, but another week or two like this and investors are going to be feeling a lot better about it – especially those who built up stocks at a bargain price.
The platinum group metals also saw rallies, but less so than gold and silver. Platinum rose for the first half of the week, topping out near the $1,275 mark, before dropping back slightly on Thursday and Friday. It still closed $28 up on the previous period at $1,251 and there’s nothing to stop it gaining more ground this week.
Palladium also made modest gains, managing a $7 rise to $779. Like platinum it dropped back towards the end of the week while gold and silver held their value.
Finally, rhodium was the most lethargic of the precious metals. It rose slightly at the start of the week then stagnated at $1,178.
While we saw different levels of recovery across the market sector, overall metals had their best week in a while. It’s no coincidence that this happened as the stock markets ran into trouble, with significant falls in the European and Asian exchanges as well as the Dow Jones. Investor concerns that many stocks are over-valued, plus the Federal Reserve’s decision to downgrade economic forecasts for Germany and Japan, are denting confidence in equities. That’s bad news for the economy as a whole but is likely to start rebuilding the reputation of precious metals as a safe bet in troubled times. With all the leading metals selling at bargain prices this is a very good time to look at buying up a good supply. There’s an excellent chance of that paying off in the near future.
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. 
