DOW STARTS STRONG; ASIAN NEW YEAR SLOWS GOLD SALES
The U.S. economic calendar is clear today as investors look forward to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night. Ahead of that and Wednesday’s release of January retail sales data, the market is starting strong. Rockwell Global Capital’s Chief Market Economist Peter Cardillo expects the Dow industrials to close at 14,000 today. He goes on to say, “Until we see a real strong reversal, the technical outlook is looking pretty good. I’m quite bullish for this quarter.”
A strong economy and a stronger dollar have helped push the Gold price lower Monday. Asian markets, including China, Japan and Korea, are closed this week for the Lunar New Year. Standard Chartered analyst Dan Smith said, “Gold is going to be pretty range bound in the days ahead with Asia absent.” Long term, Gold could come back as an inflation hedge, as evidenced by speculators raising their net long positions. In addition, analysts are noting an easing in Gold’s relationship with global equities. This may point to a resurgence of Gold’s investor appeal as the safe haven aspect becomes less attractive with an optimistic world view.
At 9 a.m. (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
- Gold, $1,650.60, Down $16.80.
- Silver, $31.12, Down $0.36.
- Platinum, $1,708.70, Down $6.00.
- Palladium, $750.90, Down $1.60.
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