Morning Gold & Silver Market Report – 10/12/2012

Nicholas Wilsey

10/12/2012 8:02:00 AM

GOLD PRIMED FOR BREAKOUT; GLOBAL EFFECTS OF FISCAL CLIFF

Gold has been steady over the last few months and it has some economists wondering if the yellow metal is ready to break out of its holding pattern. "Concerns about overall global economic health have kept Gold in a pretty tight trading range, but this is typical just before some type of breakout, up or down. Right now, the weight of the evidence points toward higher prices," said Nathan Rowader, portfolio manager of the Forward Commodity Long/Short Strategy Fund. Even with recent Gold prices staying relatively flat, they are still up almost twelve percent for the year.

As the leading financial power in Europe, Germany has been pushing for debt burdened Greece to move faster in their economic recovery efforts. However, not every country agrees with the idea of a fast recovery. "We have been arguing for some time that single-minded and draconian fiscal policies may be counterproductive and have a tendency to backfire," said Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega. There have been many countries worldwide that have been critical of Germany’s lack of patience.

One of the biggest topics of conversation in the financial world is the United States and the “Fiscal Cliff.” The main point of emphasis is the tax cuts that are set to expire at the first of the new year. If they are allowed to expire without any action, the effects could be felt worldwide. "It’s very clear that if the whole tax package moves off the table it will immediately bring the U.S. into a recession, which will have a huge negative impact on the whole world," said Zhu Min, deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

At 9:00 (EDT), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1772.20, Up $2.10.
• Silver, $34.02, Down $0.06.
• Platinum, $1678.90, Down $7.70.
• Palladium, $650.40, Down $1.50.

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