Mid-Day Gold & Silver Market Report – 12/18/2013
Ted Prince
12/18/2013 12:00:00 PM
MARKETS FLAT AHEAD OF FED POLICY MEETING FINALE
Gold is holding steady as investors await today’s conclusion to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. There has been much anticipation in recent weeks that the Fed could be ready to begin tapering its massive asset purchase program which has been so supportive of Gold in the past. “The way that gold has been holding — in a relatively narrow range in recent weeks and above its June low after crashing in the spring on initial tapering speculation — suggests to me that a lot of tapering has already been priced into gold,” Colin Cieszynski, senior market analyst at CMC Markets, said. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to conclude proceedings today at 2 pm Eastern time. Most experts do not expect any change in the current level of stimulus to be announced at the conclusion of this meeting.
U.S. stocks have wavered today as equities investors also await today’s FOMC finale. “Investors are on pins and needles awaiting the decision this afternoon on the Fed’s tapering plans,” Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors, said. “The market’s just going to tread water until they see what the Fed did and listen to Bernanke’s explanation about why they did what they did.” With unemployment still at 7 percent, the domestic jobs market is still above the 6.5 percent level that the Federal Reserve has given as an acceptable target to begin reigning in its quantitative easing program.
At 1 p.m. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
- Gold, $1,234.10, Up $1.50.
- Silver, $20.06, Up $0.16.
- Platinum, $1,344.20, Down $3.40.
- Palladium, $698.80, Down $2.30.
APMEX’s Account Managers now have extended hours Mondays through Thursdays and are here to serve you until 8 p.m. (EDT)! Or call us Fridays until 6 p.m. (EDT)! 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.
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
