Daily Gold & Silver Market Report – 8/19/2016

Jennifer Carter

8/19/2016 10:03:00 AM

DOLLAR SET FOR WEEKLY LOSS; GOLD DOWN FROM TWO-WEEK HIGH

The dollar edged up 0.2 percent Friday, though the lack of evidence whether the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates this year gave the dollar a more than 1 percent loss against other currencies for the week.  The most recent Fed minutes show the committee split on the decision of the increase.  "The dollar has just been trading on the back foot really," Lee Hardman, a strategist with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in London, said. "The market is generally of the view that the Fed isn't going to raise rates any time soon. That leaves the dollar vulnerable in the near term." The dollar index showed the greenback down 1.4 percent for the week against a basket of global currencies, falling to 94.077 Thursday, its lowest since June 23.

Gold futures fell Friday, down 0.7 percent to $1,347.90 per ounce, after hitting a two-week high Thursday. The new lack of concern for a rate hike, and the Fed’s uncertainty about the next increase, also affected Silver futures, which showed a more than 1 percent weekly decline. It seems there may not be a hike until early next year. “When the Fed next chooses to raise interest rates will presumably depend ultimately on the data situation,” Commerzbank analysts, led by Carsten Fritsch, said in a note. “Admittedly, a very strong U.S. labor market report in early September could already be enough to prompt the Fed to hike interest rates next month. We believe a rate hike at the December meeting is more likely, however, because the third-quarter figures will also be available by then.”

At 10:03 A.M. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,349.10 Down $5.90
• Silver, $19.48 Down $0.33
• Platinum, $1,120.80 Down $9.40
• Palladium,$711.70 Down $3.10

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