Morning Gold & Silver Market Report – 2/7/2013
February 7, 2013EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK KEEPS RATES LOW
The ECB met overnight Thursday deciding to keep its main interest rate at 0.75 percent. Economists speculated last week that the ECB wouldn’t change rates till Summer 2014. The ECB made no other monetary policy decisions, but investors are looking to see how much further the euro can rise before the ECB needs to be worried. Citi economist Juergen Michels said, “The question will now be what tone the news conference will take. We expect the ECB to strike a more cautious tone.” The euro is near a fifteen month high.
The Gold price has been trading in a tight range and the ECB’s meeting didn’t change that. The euro is often seen to dictate Gold’s price movements as Gold has a positive correlation to the euro and a negative one to the U.S. dollar. The Gold price has been slow to rise this year on signs of an improving global economy when investors shift to more risky assets. Gold has also slowed down before the long Lunar New Year break. The improved economy has been a boon to Platinum and Palladium, which are near seventeen month highs.
At 9 a.m. (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
- Gold, $1,677.20, Down $2.10.
- Silver, $31.85, Down $0.7.










