Gold and Silver Rates Experience a Sharp Decline

Wayne Lin

2/28/2018 12:22:44 PM

Daily Gold & Silver Market Report – 02/28/2018

Both Gold and Silver rates saw a sharp decline Tuesday., which marked Jerome Powell’s first public appearance as Federal Reserve chair. A rate increase is still on tap for 2018, in fact perhaps multiple increases, which spurned a little hesitation for investors. “The tug of war between rising rates and stronger GDP and corporate earnings boosted by tax cuts and government spending will continue to cause a bumpy ride in markets,” Nick Sargen said. (USA Today) Powell left the door open for a rate hike, but his tone did not immediately raise any concerns. Because Powell is relatively unknown to investors at the moment, we could see markets, including stocks and bonds, continue to fluctuate until investors can get a handle on the type of rule Powell will run.  Mostly, however, Powell’s prepared remarks maintained a docile tone, which did not appear to make many investors uncomfortable.

Litecoin Could Be Top-Performing Cryptocurrency in February

Cryptocurrency prices have taken a beating lately, but Litecoin could be the one that outperforms them all in February. “The fifth-largest digital token by market cap is up more than 21 percent for the month, outperforming bitcoin’s 4 percent drop.” (Business Insider) The total market for existing cryptos is down a total of 8 percent with no signs of a sharp recovery. Litecoin was added to Bloomberg’s terminal, which allowed clients to track its prices.  

Price of Silver Outlook

Silver prices started to see sharp declines after Federal Reserve Chair Jermone Powell suggested new rate hikes for 2018. Historically, “the U.S. dollar typically will fall ahead of interest rate hikes, as the market is forward-looking.” (FX Empire) It could be a matter of time before there is a Silver rally, pushing past the $16.25 to $16.60 per ounce levels, which could prompt buyers to return. There are still several months in the year and many scenarios could happen, but any current rally could be short lived because of the suggested rate hikes.

At 1:17 p.m. (ET), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,320.50 Up $0.70
• Silver, $16.52 Up $0.02
• Platinum, $989.20  Up $2.60
• Palladium, $1,044.60 Up $6.30

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