Morning Gold & Silver Market Report – 5/21/2013

Ryan Schwimmer

5/21/2013 8:02:00 AM

FOMC MEMBERS TO SPEAK ON POLICY TODAY

Precious Metals prices are falling on speculation that an end could be near for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing (QE) program. Gold seems to be setting the trend for the rest of the Precious Metals , as it started falling this morning as the U.S. dollar gained. Physical demand remains strong in China, while in India, the world’s largest Gold consumer, physical buying has slowed as more limitations are placed on imports in an effort to curb the country’s deficit.

Two top Fed officials who have voting rights on the interest-rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) are slated to speak today, and many analysts are looking for clues about the length of the current round of QE. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard will speak at 11:30 a.m. (EDT), while New York Fed President William Dudley, vice-chairman of the FOMC, will speak at 1 p.m. (EDT). Ishaq Siddiqi of ETX Capital said, “Stock traders are still digesting comments by Fed member Charles Evans overnight; he said the U.S. recovery can be self-sustaining by 2014 but expressed caution about the nature of this recovery as any signs of pick-up could be temporary, suggesting the Fed is not ready to unwind stimulus just yet but perhaps within the next year.”

At 9 a.m. (EDT), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,373.40, Down $13.70.
• Silver, $22.38, Down $0.31.
• Platinum, $1,460.20, Down $25.90.
• Palladium, $744.00, Down $8.70.

APMEX’s Account Managers now have extended hours Mondays through Thursdays and are here to serve you until 7 p.m. (CDT)! Or call us Fridays until 5 p.m. (CDT)! If you have any questions about investing in Precious Metals or simply would prefer to place your order by telephone, we are here to help.