Closing Gold & Silver Market Report – 2/5/2013

GOLD PRICE LOWERS ON POSITIVE ECONOMIC REPORTS

New reports today from major economies around the world shed a positive light on the economic outlook. The United States, China and the United Kingdom saw an expansion in their respective service industries. “We are starting to see more evidence of an improving labor market. So far, it doesn’t seem the consumer has fallen off a cliff,” Kevin Cummins, an economist at UBS Securities LLC, said. Even though there are signs of an improving global economy, central banks around the world continue to buy Gold at a strong pace. “Central banks have been buying Gold for months now,” COMEX’s Jonathan Jossen said.

A series of automatic spending cuts, which could have a major effect on the U.S. economic recovery, will take affect March 1. Just as last month’s fiscal cliff issue came down to political bickering, these spending cuts may be headed for the same fate. The nonpartisan group called the Congressional Budget Office is reporting that allowing the spending cuts to take effect would cut U.S. growth in half over the next year. Also noted in the report is a potential rise in the unemployment rate in 2013, which is a key factor to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s reasoning for the continuance of their monetary easing policy. Prior easing programs have shown to be a driving factor in the price of Precious Metals.

At 5 p.m. (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,674.30, Down $2.60.
• Silver, $31.87, Up $0.11.
• Platinum, $1,710.70, Up $12.60.
• Palladium, $766.70, Up $7.90.

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