Closing Gold & Silver Market Report – 1/3/2013

Brandi Brundidge

1/3/2013 4:15:00 PM

POSITIVE ECONOMIC NEWS PUSHES U.S. DOLLAR UP

The much anticipated fiscal cliff has come and gone with a surprisingly positive outcome. Politicians were able to reach an agreement at the last minute with a deal being passed late Tuesday night. The market reacted yesterday with commodity prices rising and the U.S. dollar dropping compared to other major currencies. Today Precious Metals prices are down as the U.S. dollar has strengthened after U.S. jobless claims rose to a five-week high. The optimism continues to grow for Gold as Jeffrey Wright, managing director at Global Hunter Securities, suggests what we may have in store for the yellow metal: “We believe Gold is positioned to go higher in the near term with the fiscal cliff deal further weakening U.S. dollar over time. The way I see it is, [the fiscal cliff] package increased taxes and spending with zero emphasis on reigning in spending. Over time, this will put more pressure on U.S. dollar and enhance Gold.”

Europe has good news to report with Germany’s unemployment rate increasing by less than economists’ predictions. Even with slow economic growth and a financial crisis that is looming over several countries in Europe, Germany is showing some progress. “The German labor market is showing signs of cooling, which isn’t that surprising given the economic slowdown in the course of 2012,” Thilo Heidrich, an economist at Deutsche Postbank AG (DPB) in Bonn, said. “If the economy stabilizes and recovers in 2013, the labor market could end its weak phase already at the end of the year.”

At 5:15 p.m. (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,666.00, Down $24.80.
• Silver, $30.15, Down $0.89.
• Platinum, $1,567.20, Up $0.20.
• Palladium, $693.50, Down $15.40.

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