Spot Silver Prices Swing Lower

Cassie Bastien

8/2/2017 12:44:10 PM

Daily Gold & Silver Market Report – 08/02/2017

The U.S. dollar stabilized Wednesday following a sustained slump, causing Precious Metal prices such as Silver to drop. Still, the gray metal is trading at more than one-month highs on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. EconomicCalendar.com Financial Analyst Sam Bourgi said, “Investors are firmly looking to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report for big movements in the markets. Bloomberg’s latest survey suggests that the U.S. economy added 178,000 nonfarm jobs last month, following a June increase of 222,000.” Investors are eyeing Thursday's release of an August interest rate decision from the Bank of England. Three members of the British Monetary Policy Committee voted to raise interest rates at the June meeting but were defeated by five other members who voted to maintain status quo. Although there is not much happening as of now, most investors look ahead for answers to market movement.

Gold Prices Slide From Near-8-Week High

The recent rise in global stock markets boosted the appeal of riskier assets over safe-haven investments such as Gold and Silver. Yet, MarketWatch News Editor Rachel Koning-Beals said, “Gold remains underpinned by increasingly cautious expectations that more U.S. interest-rate hikes will actually materialize later this year and early next. ... The dollar has been held back by the slow-moving [Federal Reserve] and as Washington’s political drama is seen cutting the odds for passage of tax reform and infrastructure spending, prospects for which tend to buoy financial markets.” So far in 2017, the euro is up more than 12 percent against the U.S. dollar. Gold, however, sustained its narrow decline after a report showed private-sector hiring stayed strong with 178,000 jobs added in July, slightly more than expected. Craig Erlam, senior analyst at Oanda, said, “We’ll also hear from two Fed officials [Wednesday]—John Williams and Loretta Mester— both of whom are not voters on the Federal Open Market Committee this year, but will be in 2018.” Because of recent signs of softer inflation, market observers have cut back their expectations for Fed rate increases, which inversely helps strengthen Gold prices.

Another Milestone for The Dow

For the first time ever, the Dow Jones industrial average reached 22,000 points Wednesday. NBC News Reporter Ben Popken said, “The 131-year-old index received a 50-point boost from Apple, whose shares saw a 6 percent hike after a strong earnings report.” President Donald Trump even tweeted early Tuesday, “Stock Market could hit all-time high (again) 22,000 today.” Since last fall, investors witnessed the markets moving upward with optimism around a more business-friendly administration. For the market watchers, Popken says, “The 22,000 barrier is a psychological level.” However, Bankrate.com Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick told NBC News, “Investors of all kinds should be mindful that the same volatility that propelled the market higher could propel it in the other direction.”

At 1:44 p.m. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,273.40 Down  $2.60
• Silver, $16.79 Down $0.07
• Platinum, $945.10 Up $3.60
• Palladium, $900.50 Up $1.10

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