Morning Gold & Silver Market Report – 10/15/2012

GOLD & SILVER PRICES DOWN IN MORNING TRADING

Whether it is the effects of the QE3 announcement wearing off or investor’s taking profits off the table, Gold and Silver prices have moved down throughout the morning. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke found himself defending QE3 this weekend at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Tokyo. The international community feels that Federal Reserve actions are artificially boosting their currencies, which puts them at a disadvantage for exporting their goods and services. This dialog brings into play a recurring theme that global currencies are in a race to the bottom.

Regarding this race to the bottom, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde is urging Europe to roll out a bailout. The European bailout would look much like the U.S. QE3. The European Central Bank is being urged to aggressively begin buying bonds to lower the borrowing costs of the respective nation. Such measures will pump euros into the marketplace and most likely will continue to depress the valuation of the euro. Lagarde is also requesting that Greece be given more time to get their financial house in order.

U.S. retail sales rose more than expected in September as U.S. consumers spent more on gas and cars. The core retail sales (which do not include gas and cars) rose 0.9 percent. Analysts had expected a gain of 0.3 percent. The New York Federal Reserve’s “Empire State” report, a gauge of general business conditions, was not as positive. It rose from a minus 10.41 to a minus 6.16, but economists were expecting minus 4.55.

At 9 a.m. (EDT) the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,744.00, Down $15.20.
• Silver, $33.16, Down $0.51.
• Platinum, $1,641.30, Down $15.00.
• Palladium, $639.00, Down $1.00.

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