VOLATILE DAY FOR ALL MARKETS
Since the Mid-Day Commentary, gold slipped to close the day slightly down, but almost unchanged since yesterday. Silver has gained slightly, and is closing the day in positive territory. Platinum and palladium have continued their slide.
All markets were extremely volatile today, showing a battle between optimistic bulls and pessimistic bears. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, a record number of investors are seeking to move to safe haven investments. Jay Wright, Managing Director at Samco Capital Markets said, “My opinion on why this is happening is uncertainty, uncertainty, uncertainty.”
The market continues to suffer from headline risk – large swings in prices due to the headline du jour. Today’s markets were pushed higher by news of lower jobless claims (however, the overall unemployment figures remain virtually unchanged) and the news that Germany’s parliament voted to pump more funds in the European Financial Stability Facility (even though European sovereign debts continue to be problematic for the macroeconomy).
At 4:00 pm (CT) the APMEX precious metals spot prices were:
- Gold - $1,619.90 – Down $0.20.
- Silver - $30.74 – Up $0.57.
- Platinum - $1,524.20 – Down $13.00
- Palladium - $622.60 – Down $14.20.