Mid-Day Gold & Silver Market Report, 8/20/2012

INVESTORS KEEP WAITING FOR QE3  

The stock market is down today as American investors paused following six straight weeks of gains on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Also, European officials exposed a supposed plan to cap European bond yields, which hindered investor confidence even as the European Central Bank insists that no decision on the matter has been made.

The dollar is trading down against the euro today. Economists and investors alike are awaiting any possible hints that the United States will embark on a third round of quantitative easing (QE3) from the minutes of the latest meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), set to be released Wednesday. Modestly positive data from the recent FOMC meeting point to delaying QE3. Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Asset Management Group, said, “Even though the minutes are going to reflect they are leaving the door open, the odds have fallen since then because we’ve seen improvement in some of the data.” However, Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird, believes newfound investor confidence is potentially risky. He said, “Investor sentiment has turned more optimistic in recent weeks. This could be problematic, given that sentiment is approaching extreme optimism at a time when the seasonal headwinds begin to surface.” Investors will wait to see if these seasonal headwinds will effect Precious Metals as the traditionally slow summer months come to an end.

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

• Gold, $1,621.60, Up $3.70.
• Silver, $28.68, Up $0.57.
• Platinum, $1,498.70, Up $24.60.
• Palladium, $608.60, Up $2.00.

APMEX’s Account Managers now have extended hours Mondays through Fridays and are here to serve you until 8 p.m. (EDT)! If you have any questions about investing in Precious Metals or simply would prefer to place your order by telephone, we are here to help.