GOLD GETS BOOST BY FEDERAL RESERVE
In an interview with the United States Congress, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended their stimulus practices, pointing to employment growth and the lack of any measurable inflation. He believes the stimulus, which the Fed will continue, has been effective, and it has also shown to support the Precious Metals market. However, the chairman warned if Congress does not work to avoid the automatic spending cuts at the first of March, all progress could be lost. “The Congress and the administration should consider replacing the sharp, frontloaded spending cuts required by the sequestration, with policies that reduce the federal deficit more gradually in the near term but more substantially in the longer run. A substantial portion of the recent progress in lowering the deficit has been concentrated in near-term budget changes, which, taken together, could create a significant headwind for the economic recovery," Bernanke said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Senate Banking Committee.
In Europe, the headlines are focused on the failed Italian election. There are three political parties in this election and after the votes were tallied, none of them had reached a majority. The headline in today’s Rome newspaper summed it up very distinctly, “The winner is: Ingovernability.” The main issue now is that these parties will have to work together to form a productive governing alliance. If that does not happen it would not only affect Italy but the entire European Union. “This is a jump to nowhere that does not bode well either for Italy or Europe,” said Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo.
At 12:00 pm (EDT), the APMEX precious metals spot prices were:
- Gold, $1615.80, Up $27.70.
- Silver, $29.40, Up $0.35.
- Platinum, $1615.60, Down $6.10.
- Palladium, $738.00, Down $12.50.
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