Closing Gold & Silver Market Report – 7/21/2011

Stephanie Chandler

7/21/2011 4:02:00 PM

EU REACHES BAILOUT AGREEMENT; US DOES NOT

Gold traded lower today on news that European leaders have finally agreed on a plan to contain the sovereign-debt crisis.  However, Matt Zeman of Kingsview Financial in Chicago, comments, “The EU lacks credibility in a lot of investors’ minds…whether or not this debt deal gets done, the fact of the matter remains that sovereign-debt issues are here to stay.” He also added the U.S. financial problems into the mix.

Although rumors were swirling today that an agreement to raise the U.S. debt limit had finally been reached, both House Speaker John Boehner and sources inside the White House have denied the existence of any such agreement.  In response to a New York Times report that indicated that a budget agreement had almost been hammered out, Jay Carney, Press Secretary for the White House, labeled the report “incorrect,” while Boehner released a message through his Twitter feed that began with a single word: “False.”  Currently, talks continue between Congressional leaders and the White House, with Obama favoring the recently released “Gang of Six” proposal and Boehner advocating the “Cut, Cap and Balance” act that recently passed a successful vote in the House of Representatives.  The deadline to raise the debt limit is August 2 of this year.

At 12:15 PM (CT) the APMEX precious metals spot prices were:

• Gold – $1,591.70 – Down $6.20.
• Silver – $39.48 – Down $0.14.
• Platinum – $1,789.60 – Up $13.50.
• Palladium - $811.20 – Up $15.60