Precious Metals prices have slipped again today  as a possible ending of the Federal Reserve’s asset purchase program might come sooner than expected. This speculation comes after minutes of the latest Fed meeting were released. However, this assumption appears to be premature as the unemployment rate remained unchanged in December. “Even with decent employment growth no downward progress has been made on the unemployment rate. This will tend to play to views that unemployment rate will take a long time to get to levels that encourage tighter Fed policy,” Alan Ruskin, a macro strategist at Deutsche Bank, said.

With Precious Metals prices dropping,  stocks have followed the dollar up as reports show an increase in workers for the month of December. “It’s not an incredibly strongly labor market but it’s mending and it’s going to continue to take time,” Greg Woodard, a strategist at Manning & Napier, said. The recent pull back for Gold and Silver has created a buying opportunity for many who see the continuation of monetary stimulus measures as positive for Precious Metals prices in the long-term.

At 1 p.m. (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,648.30, Down $28.60.
• Silver, $29.85, Down $0.90.

Precious Metals prices are tumbling in early morning trading as  they react to minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting  which suggested that quantitative easing could be coming to an end soon. Stan Shamu of IG Markets said, “Gold had been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Fed’s easing program as it looked more attractive as an inflation hedge.” Analysts at Barclays explained that this was unexpected, writing, “The range of views on the likely timing of completion of asset purchases was apparently sooner than market expectation.”

Seemingly on cue after the Fed minutes were released, the  ADP jobs report showed a gain of 155,000  jobs in December, continuing a steady trend of improvement. When the Fed announced the indefinite asset purchases last year, one of the conditions of the end of this round of quantitative easing was better jobs numbers, and the past few months have given that. The unemployment rate, however, remained flat at 7.8 percent.

At 9 a.m. (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,648.30, Down $28.30.
• Silver, $29.74, Down $1.01.

Markets rallied today after lawmakers secured a last-minute solution to evade the potentially crippling tax hikes and budget cuts projected to drag the U.S. economy into another recession.Precious Metals prices rose substantially  after news of a resolution, causing Gold in particular to reach its highest level in two weeks. However, today’s budget compromise is  by no means a complete fix   rather, debt ceiling and spending cut decisions have simply been postponed several weeks. Precious Metals remain a safe-haven investment as Washington prepares to trudge through the details that will allow the U.S. to sidestep the remaining perils of the fiscal cliff.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 308 points today while the  S& P 500 realized its largest single-day gain in more than a year. “It’s a relief rally that we didn’t stay over the cliff,” said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel Corp. “There’s some clarity regarding tax rates going forward, which is a good thing,” he said. “We had a strong year in 2012 and people might have taken some money off the table and here it comes back to the market today.” As mentioned, the fight is not over as U.S. lawmakers will reconvene in February to discuss the federal deficit and the nation’s current $16.4 trillion debt limit.

At 5 p.m. (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,687.90, Up $11.60.
• Silver, $31.07, Up $0.83.

Precious Metals prices saw a boost as U.S. lawmakers passed legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff. “Markets reacted positively to news that a deal of sorts has been reached,” TD Securities Inc. Vice President Steve Scacalossi said in an email. “The drop in the dollar is also providing a boost to the commodity complex.” Today, the U.S. dollar experienced as much as a 0.6 percent drop against other major currencies. 

Crude oil, like most commodities, gained today with news that the fiscal cliff was resolved. The nation is less likely to go back into a recession now that austerity measures do not need to be implemented. The agreement between politicians stimulated the market to trade riskier assets rather than hold on to the dollar, as the value dropped a bit today. 

At 1 p.m. (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,689.10, Up $12.80.
• Silver, $31.08, Up $0.84.

Lawmakers passed a bill to extend tax cuts and temporarily raise the debt ceiling late last night, and U.S. stock futures and Precious Metals are enjoying a boost from this decision.  However, the U.S. economy isn’t quite out of the woods yet. Fawad Razaqzada of GFT Markets said, “The focus will quickly shift toward the end of February when the U.S. is expected to hit its debt ceiling. It’s difficult to be sure of the market’s reaction because a lot of traders are away at the moment and volumes are light, so any moves are likely to be exaggerated slightly.”

The Gold price  rose to a two-week high  amid the news. Saxo Bank Vice President Ole Hansen said, “The deal does not seem like a long term durable solution to the U.S. debt, but it’s given the Gold market the excuse to move higher, helped by the dollar.” If Gold is mainly trading on the softer dollar at the moment, many eyes will start to focus on the end of February for more direction.

At 9 a.m. (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,689.50, Up $13.20.
• Silver, $31.34, Up $1.10.

This year marks the 12th in a row that the Gold market has improved on the year, which is  the longest upward trend in Gold since the 1920s. Experts point to the continuing economic stimulus by the world’s largest economies as the main reason for the climb. Europe, China and the United States have injected their respected markets with large sums of financial stimulus which has historically been good for Gold.

Many people watch the clock on December 31st to celebrate the arrival of a new year. However, investors are watching the clock for a much more dubious reason. As of midnight, the U.S. officially starts its descent over the fiscal cliff.  While Congress is working to get a deal done, it will not be happening tonight.  “There are still issues to resolve, but we're hopeful that Congress can get it done, but it's not done,” said President Barack Obama.

Looking past the news of the day, one leading economist believes the outlook for next year is less than optimistic.  “The new normal is sluggish growth and persistently high unemployment and concerns about debt and deficits,”  Pimco's Mohamed El-Erian said. The forecast is based on the lack of progress made by the major countries’ ability to deal with financial issues in a timely manner.

At 5 pm (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1676.80, Up $20.40.
• Silver, $30.38, Up $0.40.

Safe haven buying has pushed Gold up today, as we are mere hours away from the edge of the fiscal cliff. The metal is set to end the year up about 6 percent, racking up  a 12th consecutive year of gains. The central drivers of the Gold price during 2012 were remarkably low interest rates, eurozone financial instability and the continued net purchase of Gold bullion by central banks. “It seems that a failure to reach a compromise, which is looking more and more likely, is supporting Gold,” said Peter Fertig, an analyst with Germany-based Quantitative Commodity Research.

Uncertainty continues concerning the outlook for markets in 2013. Politicians meet today for last-ditch discussions to avoid the fiscal cliff, which could slow down the global economy if an agreement is not reached. So far, Monday has seen a choppy start for equities markets. However,  the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up as officials in Washington have expressed optimism over today’s budget negotiations. “The discussions are going very well,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told CNBC's “Squawk Box.” “I do think there's going to be a resolve to this. It's almost irrelevant when it happens — it's going to happen, and it's probably going to happen today.” Equities are expected to respond positively to a speedy resolution but a solution does not mean investors will shy away from historically safe investments such as Gold and Silver. Continued government stimulus, European debt woes and hesitancy regarding stock volatility could all be positive influences on Gold in the coming year.

At 1 p.m. (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,676.40, Up $20.00.
• Silver, $30.29, Up $0.30.