Precious Metal Prices Slip More Than 0.50 Percent

Cassie Bastien

4/24/2017 11:32:06 AM

Daily Gold & Silver Market Report – 04/24/2017

On account of subdued Precious Metals demand from jewelers, retailers and industries, Gold and Silver prices traded a bit lower early Monday morning. According to ETMarkets.com, the yellow metal was trading 0.94 percent down, while the gray metal was down 0.69 percent. Gold prices lowered across international markets in response to Centrist Emmanuel Macron winning the first round of the French presidential election, causing stocks to grow and sparking a sell-off in the safe-haven bullion. “We expect Gold prices to trade sideways on Monday as uncertainty looms with regards to the two favorable candidates in the French election, the second round result will be declared on May 8. Besides, inflows in the SPDR Gold trust will also boost spot Gold prices in the near term,” Angel Commodities said in a research note.

Gold, Bullion Miners Drop In Result of French Vote

In addition to spot Gold prices, bullion mining stocks also dropped while investors turned their attention to riskier assets on anticipation that Emmanuel Macron will become France’s next president. Bloomberg Markets reports after pro-growth centrist Macron and nationalist Marine Le Pen won the first-round vote Sunday, the yellow metal slipped around 1.8 percent and Gold miners plunged as much as 2.7 percent. “With the second-round line-up (scheduled to take place May 7) avoiding the scenario of a contest between Le Pen and Communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon, widespread relief across markets pushed European stocks and the euro higher, and cut Gold’s gain this year to 11 percent,” Bloomberg Reporters David Stringer, Ranjeetha Pakiam and Kevin Crowley said.

• Gold futures for June delivery declined 1.1 percent to $1,274.50 an ounce at 11:08 a.m. (ET) in New York, after touching $1,266, the lowest since April 11. (BloombergMarkets.com).

Euro Surges against US Dollar

Sydney Morning Herald Reporter Vesna Poljak said, “The euro has surged to a five-month high against the U.S. dollar on the emergence of Emmanuel Macron as the front-runner in the French presidential race.” A victory for Macron's opponent, National Front Leader Marine Le Pen, was expected to be negative for the euro, as she has campaigned against European unification. Poljak notes, “With Macron appearing secure in his lead and likely to form a successful coalition once in power, the political event risk approaching over Europe is fading.” Stephen Halmarick, head of investment market research at Colonial First State Global Asset Management, said, “There's actually a pretty good chance they end up with results that are quite positive for markets.” In the United States, President Donald Trump recently promised to unveil his tax reform plan April 26. Deutsche Bank economist Adam Boyton said, “Now that we've had the first round of the French election out of the way, the focus shifts to the U.S. and how is the market viewing the Trump reflation trade.”

At 12:32 p.m. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,277.20 Down $12.90
• Silver, $17.97 Down $0.01
• Platinum, $964.40 Down $13.70
• Palladium, $799.90 Up $4.10

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.