U.S. PRODUCTIVITY UP; START OF THE GOLD SEASON
Before the jobs and consumer confidence reports were released this morning, U.S. stock futures had remained mostly stable, trading in a very tight range. John Haynes, head of research at Investec Wealth & Investment in London, summed up the current investor mood, saying, “I think people are underestimating the positive momentum that is building. It’s about staying where we are until the U.S. political picture clears.” His quote isn’t far off the mark. Jobless claims fell by an additional 9,000 while U.S. productivity rose by 1.9 percent.
November begins the buying season for Gold as the Diwali festival in India and the lavish wedding season produce high demand. In addition, Chinese New Year has historically provided an additional boost in demand. How much of a boost? Consider this, according to the World Gold Council: India and China dominate the global consumer demand for Gold combining for 45 percent of the jewelry, bar, and coin demand in Q2 2012. An interesting statistic tells us that dating back to 2000, Gold has gained 8.3 percent from November through the end of April.
At 9 a.m. (EDT), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
- Gold, $1,724.10, Up $4.50.
- Silver, $32.57, Up $0.23.
- Platinum, $1,574.70, Up $0.20.
- Palladium, $616.10, Up $5.40.
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