Closing Gold & Silver Market Report – 12/13/2011
Timothy Oakes
12/13/2011 4:58:00 PM
ECONOMY ‘EXPANDS MODERATELY’ PER FED
Since the Mid-Day Gold & Silver Market Report, precious metals prices have been on the decline, due in large part to technical selling. The outlook by financial analysts, though, still points to Gold as a safe-haven investment, largely on the Fed-supported view of economic uncertainty surrounding Europe. Morgan Stanley’s commodities research section still holds to an average price forecast in 2012 at about $2,200 per ounce, primarily “due to monetary expansion and the lack of faith by investors globally and the desire to diversify the reserves of central banks and individuals,” chief investment strategist David Darst said.
Federal Reserve policymakers met today to discuss the U.S. economy and said they feel that our economic conditions are slowly expanding, even as global conditions deteriorate. They decided to take no new policy action at this time. “The economy has been expanding moderately, notwithstanding some apparent slowing in global growth,” Federal Open Market Committee members said in a statement at the conclusion of their meeting today in Washington. “While indicators point to some improvement in overall labor market conditions, the unemployment rate remains elevated.” This does not entirely eliminate the potential for further easing, but the drop in unemployment to 8.6% is a key driver at this point, since the rate has come down over the past two months.
In late-breaking news, numbers for existing home sales are being revised downward going back to 2007. Data from 2007 through October of this year is being revised, which will portray a much weaker housing market than previously reported. Much of the problem was due to double counting, or houses being listed more than once. As bad as the housing crisis might have seemed, apparently it was much worse.
At 4:01 PM (CST), the APMEX precious metals spot prices were:
- Gold - $1,632.30 – Down $33.90.
- Silver - $30.80 – Down $0.20.
- Platinum - $1,476.10 – Down $11.80.
- Palladium - $644.90 – Down $18.10.
APMEX Market Reports provide our readers with a review of spot price activity and some of the factors that may be affecting the market for Precious Metals. While the information is obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy or its completeness and we encourage you to conduct your own investigation prior to making any decision based on the information. The Market Reports are not intended as a comprehensive discussion and there may be other factors affecting the financial marketplace. These Market Reports are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute a recommendation by APMEX to hold, purchase or sell any Precious Metal product. All orders, purchases and sales, if any, are subject to the terms of the User Agreement and other applicable policies
