Stocks Climb as Political Worries Subside

Cassie Bastien

8/14/2017 1:03:06 PM

Daily Gold & Silver Market Report – 08/14/2017

Volatility weakened as the prospect of war between the U.S. and North Korea appeared to recede, causing safe-haven assets to drop  and stocks to climb. Eric J Weiner with Bloomberg Markets said, “White House officials sought to calm the crisis on Sunday by assuring that war was not about to break out, and media attention shifted to strife within the U.S. following the violent white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend.” As of now, many viewers are more concerned about the economic data scheduled to be released this week rather than a possible war involving the U.S.

Gold Drops From 2-Month Highs

As tensions between the U.S. and North Korea lessened, Gold prices lowered after reaching their highest levels in around two months, according to Investing.com. In separate talk show appearances, Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster both said Sunday there was no indication war with North Korea will break out. As a new week began, investors turned their attention to upcoming economic data, including the monthly retail sales report, for further clues on the timing of the next Federal Reserve rate hike. Furthermore, Investing.com said, “Traders will also focus on minutes of the Fed’s latest policy meeting due Wednesday, as they look for more hints on how the central bank plans to pare back its balance sheet.”

U.S. Dollar Rises

Dion Rabouin with NASDAQ says the U.S. dollar felt quite the increase early Monday as investors moved their sights away from haven assets such as Precious Metals, explaining, “The absence of further abrasive rhetoric by U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the weekend helped bring investors back to the dollar.” Brian Daingerfield, macro strategist at NatWest Markets in Stamford, CT, said the dollar was also helped by gains within the U.S. stock markets, where, as Rabouin reported, “the dollar rose 0.3 percent against the [Japanese] yen to 109.48 yen.”

At 2:03 p.m. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,283.10 Down $7.90
• Silver, $17.17 Down $0.02
• Platinum, $969.90 Down $18.80
• Palladium, $899.80 Up $0.10

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