10/29/2014 9:09:29 AM By: Paul Stevens

 

SPECULATION DRIVES METALS AHEAD OF FED STATEMENT

Precious Metal prices are off to a stagnant start in early morning trading. As the two-day U.S. Federal Reserve meeting comes to a close, investors expect an announcement on the end of quantitative easing (QE). However, not everyone is confident in the Fed' s decision to stop its bond-buying stimulus program. Investment broker Peter Schiff told CNBC in an interview, " The Fed is probably going to continue the pretense that it can end the QE program, which it can' t. In fact, the bubble economy that the Fed inflated is more dependent on quantitative easing now than it was before."

Stock prices around the world rose Wednesday, getting a boost from positive corporate earnings and speculation the Federal Reserve won' t raise interest rates in the near future. With so much focus on today' s Fed statement, the market could be in line for some volatility. Michael Hewson, chief strategist at CMC Markets in London, said, " Markets are banking on the prospect that the Federal Reserve will do everything in its power to anchor interest rate expectations at, or below, current levels. Any attempt to alter the (policy statement' s) language in anything other than a dovish fashion could well see markets take fright."

At 10:07 a.m. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,226.70 Down $4.70
• Silver, $17.29 Up $0.01

10/28/2014 4:35:55 PM By: Paul Stevens

 

METALS CONTINUE TO SHOW STRENGTH AHEAD OF FED STATEMENT

Precious Metal prices are continuing to show strength and prices push upward through afternoon trading.  As investor prepare for the statement at the end of the two-day Federal Reserve meeting, soft U.S. consumer spending data has provided pressure to the U.S. dollar while giving the metals a boost. George Gero, vice president of RBC Capital Markets in New York, said, " The rally after today' s durable goods number is somewhat reassuring the Fed meeting this week will not have any unusual language in reversing its continued low interest rates policy."

Equities around the globe rose on Tuesday due to solid global corporate earnings and data showing an increase in U.S. consumer confidence.  With the U.S. housing market struggling, some investors are attributing the movement to corporate earnings. King Lip, chief investment officer at Baker Avenue Asset Management in San Francisco, stated, " Corporate earnings continue to surprise and that has been the wind in the sails of this rebound."

At 5:15 p.m. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,230.00 Down $1.30
• Silver, $17.25 Up $0.03

 

10/28/2014 10:31:34 AM By: Brandi Brundidge

 

GOLD LIFTED BY WEAK DOLLAR HOUSING MARKET FUTURE UNKNOWN

Precious Metals reacted positively to data from the U.S. Commerce Department showing durable goods orders fell 1.3 percent last month. The news pressured the U.S. dollar, which assisted Gold as it regained nearly four percent this month on global growth concerns. The Federal Reserve begins its two day Federal Open Market Committee meeting today and is expected to announce the conclusion of its monthly bond-buying program that has slowly been scaled back this year. The market will closely monitor for any signs interest rates may increase in the near future, along with how the U.S. economy is performing in the Fed' s eyes. " There were some stops triggered once we breached yesterday' s low, but  China walked in and pushed up Gold," one Hong Kong trader said. " People are nervous ahead of the FOMC and big position changes are unlikely. For the moment, I think we will hold between $1,220 and $1,240 [per ounce]."

U.S. housing data released this morning showed an overall increase for single family home prices in August from 2013, though the increase fell short of expectations. The S& P/Case Shiller composite index compared 20 metropolitan areas and reported a 5.6 percent gain for the month of August, the lowest year-to-year growth since November 2012. " Despite the weaker year-over-year numbers, home prices are still showing an overall increase, as the National Index increased for its eighth consecutive month," S& P Dow Jones Indices index committee chairman David Blitzer said in a statement.  The housing market will be a focus point once the Fed ends its stimulus program, as the policy initially began after the devastation from the notorious 2008 U.S. housing bubble.

At 11:30 a.m. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,231.10 Down $0.20
• Silver, $17.28 Up $0.06

October 27, 2014 - 07:54:53 PDT

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10/27/2014 9:02:50 AM By: Paul Stevens

 

METALS AWAIT DIRECTION AHEAD OF FED MEETING

Precious Metal prices saw a slight boost Monday morning ending three consecutive days of losses.  As investors prepare for a week of important economic data releases, the two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting, which begins Tuesday, will be closely watched.  Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar said, " The Fed obviously has a mandate domestically on inflation and growth, but could it now delay a June hike because of what' s going on outside the United States? That will be something to watch for... it will give gold some near-term direction."

The euro gained ground and edged up on Monday following the European Central Bank' s stress test on European banks.  The test helped relieve some concern surrounding the eurozone economy and found smaller than expected capital requirements within European banks.  Neil Mellor, a currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon in London, said, " There are some positives from the stress tests and it could have been a whole lot worse."

At 10:00 a.m. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,231.30 Down $2.50
• Silver, $17.24 Up $0.00

10/24/2014 4:15:41 PM By: Peter LaTona

 

ANOTHER WEEK OF TRYING TO PREDICT FUTURE FED ACTIONS

This week, Gold and Silver gave back a small portion of their recent gains. Last week' s negative global economic news boosted prices on expectations that the Fed would delay interest rate hikes. The markets continue to focus on what the Fed may or may not do and this week the sentiment turned to sooner rather than later [interest rate hikes]. All it took was a jobs report with claims lower than expected. Expectations are that Precious Metals and U.S. stocks will continue to go back and forth dependent upon predictions of which way the Fed winds will blow.   

The renewed confidence in equity markets this week boosted the U.S. dollar. On Wednesday, a report came out indicating a stable and low inflation in the U.S. These two factors independently drive down Gold and together should have clobbered prices, but they did not. Why? Perhaps it was the news coming out of Russia that their central bank is stocking up on Gold. The Chinese central bank is suspected of doing the same thing along with India, as Gold demand is up for the Diwali festival. The Swiss Gold Referendum is also picking up support. If passed, this referendum would mandate Switzerland to purchase a very significant amount of Gold.

Mohamed El-Erian, former CIO Pimco, came out with an article on Monday that is worth noting, " 4 Things to Remember after Wild Market Week" :  " 1. It doesn' t take much too severely dislocate markets, both down and up. 2. Liquidity is elusive when traders need it most, even when it comes to the deepest of all markets. 3. Market positioning and risk-taking are no substitute for solid fundamentals. 4. The Fed still doesn' t have much appetite for financial volatility, and markets will readily embrace its reassurances that it will try to act to counteract these gyrations.

At 5:15 p.m. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,233.40 Up $2.30
• Silver, $17.26 Up $0.04

10/24/2014 8:15:08 AM By: Paul Stevens

 

METALS MOVE UP AS FUTURES, OIL DROP

Precious Metal prices are rising in early morning trading.  Although Gold has gained for two straight weeks, a stronger U.S. dollar along with better than expected economic data have put a damper on the yellow metal' s safe-haven appeal. Macquarie analyst Matthew Turner said, " A better run of U.S. data has calmed nerves about the wider economy, and that has put pressure on Gold in the past few days, as it had been enjoying a safe-haven bid."

U.S. index futures and European stocks declined Friday, giving back some of the gains from their best week this year.  Investor concerns over a struggling global economy, coupled with a new case of Ebola in New York, provided pressure to the markets. Alessandro Giansanti, a senior rates strategist at ING Groep NV in Amsterdam, said, " Despite the economic recovery in the U.S., the overall outlook is not that strong and the Ebola scare is adding to uncertainty about growth."

At 9:14 a.m. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,235.00 Up $3.90
• Silver, $17.36 Up $0.15

       

Morning Gold & Silver Market Report  - 10/23/2014