Mid-Day Gold & Silver Market Report – 3/20/2013

Geoffrey Varner

3/20/2013 12:10:00 PM

BRITISH GROWTH STALLS; U.S. STOCKS SURGING

Three months ago British finance minster George Osborne predicted England’s economy would be growing by about 1.2 percent. Today Osborne was forced to revise his prediction to reflect the more accurate 0.6 percent the country is on pace to meet. Regardless of the correction, he vowed to stick to the course of austerity. “It is taking longer than anyone hoped, but we must hold to the right track,” Osborne said. He continues on to say that the Bank of England may need to use “unconventional monetary policy instruments” and operate in a similar way to the U.S. Federal Reserve. Osborne has tasked the Monetary Policy Committee “to clearly lay out the tradeoff it has made when deciding how long it will take before inflation returns to target.”

The U.S. stock market climbed above recent highs today. The DOW broke new ground as the market awaits news from the Federal Reserve this afternoon. Senior equity strategist Jim Russel of U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Cincinnati said, “There is a safety net called the Fed that is under the market now, and when that is taken away, the market could run into some white water, but we think that comes later this year.” He continued on to say that the markets would not be surprised by the language and signaling from the Fed.

The Gold price has eased during trading on Wednesday as investors see the potential crisis in Cyprus being isolated from the rest of Europe. MKS SA head of trading Afshin Nabavi said, “Investors have not taken much action yet and await more details of the rescue plan, but prices should be well supported in the $1,600 area.”

At 1:01 p.m. (EDT), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,608.50, Down $5.20.
• Silver, $28.84, Down $0.08.
• Platinum, $1,583.70, Up $26.30.
• Palladium, $758.00, Up $23.80.

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.