In most cases, when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks, precious metals prices go up. But not today. Bernanke’s comments have created a sharp selloff in Gold and Silver. In testimony before a congressional committee, Bernanke said he would not take the possibility of QE3 off the table, but his comments have been interpreted to mean that another round of quantitative easing is unlikely. “Bernanke said that another round of bond buying is not off the table,” said Shelley Goldberg of Roubini Global Economics. “But, the overall perception in the market is that there will be less of a need for QE3, and that has rallied the dollar and is bearish for commodities.”
At 3:20 p.m.(CST), the APMEX precious metals spot prices were:
- Gold - $1,695.90 – Down $91.50.
- Silver - $34.66 – Down $2.53.
- Platinum - $1,682.80 –Down $41.70.
- Palladium - $704.90 – Down $16.40.