Closing Gold & Silver Market Report – 12/5/2011
Timothy Oakes
12/5/2011 4:30:00 PM
S&P PLACES EUROZONE ON NOTICE; RUSSIANS PROTEST ELECTION
The price of Gold fell for the day on technical selling. “We have seen Gold moving along in tandem with equities. However, it is way too early to say that Gold will lose its safe-haven status …,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at Vision Financial Markets. The prices are still correlated to what is going on in Europe. The other shocking piece of information is international concern over potential voter fraud in Russia.
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has come out with some very harsh wording in its most recent credit rating review for the eurozone. This comes on the heels of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy pushing for a treaty rewrite to tighten economic cooperation. Fifteen countries are on warning for downgrade, and France and Germany have had their AAA credit rating downgraded. “Systemic stress in the eurozone has risen in recent weeks and reached such a level that a review of all eurozone sovereign ratings is warranted,” S&P said in a statement. Another shocking performance issue to keep in mind is Germany’s bond performance, which has slipped below the U.S. Treasuries for the first time since 2009.
Another alarming development is perceived voter fraud surrounding Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has gone on the defensive. Recent elections gave Putin a majority of power within political system, which seemed unlikely to most Russians. “Ballot box stuffing” seems to be the main issue, and a number of Russians demonstrated over Putin’s overwhelming influence on Russian politics. The United States has “serious concerns” over how the election was conducted. Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov said, “The country has never seen such a dirty election.” He dismissed the official results as “theft on an especially grand scale.”
At 4:15 p.m. (CST), the APMEX precious metals spot prices were:
- Gold - $1,725.10 – Down $24.20.
- Silver - $32.12 – Down $0.56.
- Platinum - $1,523.00 – Down $26.50.
- Palladium - $633.00 – Down $12.80.
APMEX Market Reports provide our readers with a review of spot price activity and some of the factors that may be affecting the market for Precious Metals. While the information is obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy or its completeness and we encourage you to conduct your own investigation prior to making any decision based on the information. The Market Reports are not intended as a comprehensive discussion and there may be other factors affecting the financial marketplace. These Market Reports are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute a recommendation by APMEX to hold, purchase or sell any Precious Metal product. All orders, purchases and sales, if any, are subject to the terms of the User Agreement and other applicable policies
