Gold and Silver Market Update (12/7/14) – Golden Eagle
Last week was another mixed one for precious metals; while gold and silver made modest gains all the platinum group metals lost value. The main driver for this seems to be a positive mood in the equities markets; we can’t see any other factors that might have pushed prices down.
Firstly gold. While gold ended up higher than at the end of the previous period that was all down to gains made at the weekend; its performance on the markets Monday through Friday was a lot less impressive, with the price slipping straight away on Monday, rallying briefly on Tuesday then dropping again for the rest of the week. It finally closed at $1,193.10, which is $24.60 higher than the previous Friday but nearly $20 below where it was on Monday.
Silver looks slightly more positive, which is always good after the disastrous run it’s been having, but there have been too many brief recoveries that ended in a renewed nosedive for us to generate any real optimism yet. However it did manage to pick up 70 cents over the week to close at $16.28. That’s not as much as the previous week’s losses but it’s a lot better than anything we’ve seen recently, so there’s a chance that the market is realizing just how underpriced silver is right now. If it’s still rising at the end of the year that will look like a safer prospect.
Platinum dropped sharply on Monday then recovered to a 30-day high of $1,239 on Thursday, but dipped again through the last day of trading to end the week at $1,218. That’s up on the $1,197 it was trading at previous Friday but, like gold, it lost everything it had gained over the weekend and $17 more.
For most of the last two quarters palladium has been the healthiest performer among the precious metals, but even it slipped back last week to close down $4 at $801. It did buck the trend of a sharp fall on Friday though. Instead the price fell Monday and Tuesday, before picking up again for the rest of the week.
Finally, rhodium dropped steeply from Monday’s start at $1,135 then stayed pretty much static for most of the week, closing at $1,085. While the price has been declining steadily from its 2010 high a five percent weekly fall like that is enough to make investors take notice, so we may see a further fall as people rush to sell off. That would be a bad idea right now because a loss is almost guaranteed.
Those metals that managed to rise last week were flying in the face of a climbing stock market, usually a negative sign for metals; in turn equities were nudged up by better than predicted non-farm payroll figures. The next potential mover will be China’s economic reports though, and that’s likely to depress stock values – their manufacturing sector looks to be slowing down. The metals market has been extremely volatile since the beginning of Q3 and that doesn’t look like changing any time soon, so be prepared to act quickly unless you’re aiming at long-term gains.
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. 
