GOLD SEES BOOST; U.S. CONGRESS BACK IN SESSION
While the stock market has been falling in fear of the fiscal cliff looming over the United States economy, Gold has moved in a more positive direction, seeing more than a three percent boost over the past week. “I think many people feel that the can will continue to get kicked down the road. The outcome of the election seems to show there is not an appetite for major tax increases or meaningful cuts in spending,” said Christopher Blasi, president of Neptune Global Holdings LLC in Wilmington, DE. “So even if there are compromises to avoid the cliff in the short-term, the fundamentals are still there for Gold to keep rallying.”
Today marked the start of a new session of the U.S. Congress and the agenda is clearly focused on the economy. At the end of the calendar year, major tax cuts and spending agreements will come to an abrupt end. There will be no lack of arguments from all parties involved on how to handle the situation. Even though the deadline is looming, the elected officials seem to be content to go at their own pace. “We're three weeks away from serious negotiations on the fiscal cliff,” said Greg Valliere, chief political strategist at Potomac Research Group, a Washington policy analysis firm.
In Europe, there are also deadlines to be met, or extended, in the case of Greece. The European Union has given Greece a two year extension to the monetary bailout program. Without this leeway there was a good chance the country would default and possibly send them out of the union completely. Greece passed new measures to help with their financial woes; however, it is not winning over doubters. “The key risks concern the overall policy implementation, given that the coalition supporting the government appears fragile and some components of the program face political resistance, despite the determination of the government,” said the report by the “troika” made up of the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF.
At 5 p.m. (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
- Gold, $1726.90, Down $6.00.
- Silver, $32.55, Down $0.04.
- Platinum, $1585.00, Up $18.50.
- Palladium, $637.10, Up $28.10.
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