ENDING THE GOLDEN CLIMB; FISCAL CLIFF TALKS CONTINUE
This has been the 12th straight year of a rise in Gold price. However, in the last quarter of 2012, the Precious Metals market has seen a slowdown that has investors wondering if next year can continue the historic rise. “The environment for Gold is good, but it isn't improving further by the day, so some slowdown in the uptrend in Gold should be expected,” Credit Suisse analyst Tobias Merath said. With the continuance of low interest rates and inflation, most of the major banking institutions still forecast record highs for next year’s Gold price.
There is a lot of disruption being caused by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who held the position until he was forced out of office last year under a cloud of scandalous accusations. However, he seems to be ready for a comeback and is making it clear that he is unhappy with the financial progress being made in the region. “If Germany doesn't accept that the ECB must be a real central bank, if interest rates don't come down, we will be forced to leave the euro and return to our own currency in order to be competitive,” Berlusconi said in comments reported by Italian news agencies.
The news regarding the fiscal cliff has seemed more positive over the last few days. Both parties have made concessions in hopes of coming to an agreement. While some headway being made, the numbers still don’t match. “What separates us is probably a few hundred billion dollars,” President Barack Obama said at a news conference. Even so, optimism in Congress runs high. “There's still enough time for us to finish all of our work before this weekend, if we're all willing to stay late and work hard,” said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
At 1 pm (EDT), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
- Gold, $1669.50, Down $1.20.
- Silver, $31.23, Down $0.42.
- Platinum, $1593.10, Down $1.60.
- Palladium, $699.00, Up $8.10.
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