10/23/2014 9:04:15 AM By: Brandi Brundidge

 

PRECIOUS METALS AFFECTED BY STRONG EUROZONE DATA U.S. JOB MARKET REFLECTS SOLID FIGURES

Gold is down this morning due to better-than-expected business activity in the eurozone.  When the news broke it lifted stock markets from early lows, which pressured the yellow metal.  Additional pressure is being felt this morning from a stronger U.S. dollar, which reached its highest point in a week.    Platinum production has resumed at Anglo American in South Africa  a month ahead of schedule in September as operations attempted to recover from a five-month strike.  The wage strike by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union ended in June and ended up costing the company 424,000 ounces in lost production plus another 108,000 ounces once miners returned to work and began the ramp-up process.

The Labor Department released the unemployment numbers for the week ending October 18 with the seasonally adjusted number of unemployed at 283,000.  Economists forecast were accurate as claims have continued to decline over the past three consecutive weeks.  In September, payrolls increased by 248,000 workers causing the unemployment rate to fall below 6 percent for the first time since July 2008.    If the U.S. continues to see success in the job market it is highly probable for the Fed to hike interest rates sooner than expected.

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

• Gold, $1,237.30 Down $10.20
• Silver, $17.27 Down $0.02

 

 

10/21/2014 8:52:05 AM By: Brandi Brundidge

 

GOLD HITS ONE-MONTH HIGH LOWER OIL PRICES ELEVATE CONCERN

Precious Metals prices are on the rise with Gold reaching a one-month high this morning with a weaker U.S. dollar and continued concern over global growth.  Recent data from China showed their growth fell in the third quarter to its lowest since the infamous 2008 worldwide financial crisis, while its gross domestic product grew 7.3 percent above the 7.2 percent forecasted by analysts.  " The retreat of the U.S. dollar from multi-year highs removed the main obstacle for gold. Weak economic data in the eurozone and China led to concerns that the U.S. economy will not be immune against a slowdown in economic growth, causing a turmoil in wider markets over the past few days," Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said. If economists even suggest a slowdown in growth is occurring in the U.S. and it reflects in economic data the Fed may decide to delay raising interest rates which is positive for Gold.

Crude oil hit a low recently at $79.78 a barrel on October 16, which is the lowest point since June 2012.    These lower prices are raising concerns for oil development. New York-based ITG have forecasted that at $80 a barrel the market could see a 5 percent growth down from a previous outlook of 12 percent. According to Macquarie Group Ltd., drillers may add fewer barrels to domestic output than last year due to lower prices. " Though some forecasts show oil rebounding or stabilizing, any slower increase in U.S. output would shake perceptions for the global market," Vikas Dwivedi, an oil and gas economist in Houston for Sydney-based Macquarie, said.

At 9:50 a.m. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, 1,254.50 Up $7.80
• Silver, $17.59 Up $0.18

10/20/2014 4:18:50 PM By: Peter LaTona

 

GOLD, SILVER HOLD GAINS AS STOCKS REBOUND

The stock market had an ugly open today on the disappointing earnings outlook coming out of IBM. One concern was that  IBM earnings might foretell things to come, but these fears subsided on Apple&rsquo s positive quarterly results and stocks bounced into positive territory for the third day in a row. Gold and Silver maintained positive momentum on a weaker U.S. dollar and continuing geopolitical fears.

Russia, who has been hit hard by economic sanctions from the West, is on a Gold feeding frenzy. Russia holds the world&rsquo s fifth largest basket of foreign currencies and, as they are not enamored with the dollar or euro right now, they are focused on heightened purchases of Gold. This is not only a reaction to the sanctions there is also concern about bulging debt in the U.S. and eurozone. A senior Russian official said President Vladimir Putin' s administration has reviewed their currency reserves and is looking to  separate from the dollar and euro  to provide countermeasures against the sanctions. Russia&rsquo s recent buying activity has made them the fifth largest holder of Gold.

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

• Gold, 1,249.20 Up $8.20
• Silver, $17.48 Up $0.09

10/20/2014 10:36:57 AM By: Paul Stevens

 

METALS GAINING AHEAD OF DATA

Precious Metals prices are gaining through morning trading as investors continue showing concern over global economic slowdown. Many will keep an eye on a variety of quarterly reports over the next few days that will likely shape equity markets. Analysts at Sharps Pixley mentioned in a note, " While the sentiment towards Gold has been soured given little inflationary pressure, the global equity rout and the on-going  geopolitical risks have led to a rising demand for Gold  as an uncertainty and a portfolio hedge."

After a rough prior week, global stocks are on the rise Monday. U.S. data showing encouraging third-quarter earnings helped slightly ease  concerns on the global economy. Saxo Bank trader Andrea Tueni said, " Calm returns after last week' s roller-coaster ride. U.S. macro data is reassuring, the earnings season has been quite good so far, and we' re getting positive news such as Japan' s big pension fund boosting its exposure to equities."

At 11:34 am (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,246.90 Up $5.90
• Silver, $17.42 Up $0.03

Dow Theory Update

By  Tim Wood  -  October 19, 2014

From my seat and in light of the price action this past week, I truly find the lack of understanding surrounding Dow Theory amusing. I also find the content from most any article on this subject to be inaccurate and/or typically misleading. Such erroneous articles...

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By  Florian Grummes  -  October 19, 2014

In my last analysis from 7th of September I thought that Gold would hold up well above the US1,240.20 level. Obviously I was wrong as Gold had a terrible month and plunged all the way down to US$1,183.30. If you followed my recommended stop-loss swing traders should be...