Daily Gold & Silver Market Report–3/4/2016

Jennifer Carter

3/4/2016 10:30:00 AM

GOLD STEADIED AFTER YEAR HIGHS

Spot Gold steadied Friday after hitting highs not seen in more than a year due to the softer U.S. dollar.  The yellow metal has risen nearly 20 percent in 2016 on economic concerns, boosting Gold’s safe-haven appeal. Gold was up 1 percent to $1,264.96 an ounce, well off its high of $1,274.70 per ounce, not seen since February 2015. Oil and stock fluctuations have caused a rise in metal this year.  "Gold is overdue a correction and if this number cannot provide that, it shows how strong underlying demand continues to be," Saxo Bank head of commodities research Ole Hansen said.

The Fed wants to see inflation reach 2 percent and it seems the economy is on track for that goal. The U.S. non-farm payrolls reported an increase of 242,000 jobs in February after increasing by 151,000 in January. "Clearly inflation (or lack thereof) gives Fed presidents the most pause when deciding to continue normalizing rates. While prices gained some traction in January, inflation expectations as measured by the New York Fed and University of Michigan remain low," Nick Colas, chief market strategist at Convergex, said in his daily note. "The Fed does not want to repeat Japan's deflationary experience in the 1990s."

At 10:30 A.M. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,277.50 Up $17.60
• Silver, $15.80 Up $0.61
• Platinum, $968.00 Up $25.30
• Palladium, $552.50 Up $9.30

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