January 14th Midweek Gold Market Update

Precious metals have backed off a bit today, but are still on course to finish this week having posted gains. The fact of the matter is that investors around the world are growing increasingly anxious about what this year has in store for global growth. So far, early indications have been disappointing as much of the year-end data we have been dealt thus far has been more sub-par than anything else. Just today, we received a retail sales report from the United States that really fell short of expectations in just about every way.

For gold and silver, the start of this New Year has been better than anyone could have ever expected and spot values are at their highest points in months. For silver in particular, the last few days has seen the metal eclipse the $17/ounce threshold and somehow manage to retain those gains. It will truly be interesting to see what the rest of the week has in store for gold and silver. Though they are both posting weekly gains at this point, there is no saying what the next two days have in store.

Poor Retail Sales Report Weighs On Stocks, US Dollar

This week has brought about a good quantity of economic data thus far, but most of these reports have fallen far short of expectations. Just today, the market was dealt a poor retail sales report from the United States from December. Officially, retail sales in December fell on an annualized basis by just shy of 1%. Considering December is when a bulk of Christmas shopping gets done, most experts were expecting that retail sales from that month would be upbeat.

As a result of this poor economic data from the United States, stocks as well as the US Dollar have suffered considerable losses. This is obviously good for precious metals because as investor anxiety rises, so too will interest in precious metals. As investors look to rid themselves of risky investments, interest in gold and silver will naturally begin to increase.

As the rest of the week plays out, investors in the US and elsewhere will turn their attention to the European Union, including the Euro currency and all equity markets. The reason for this is due to the fact that the European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for next Thursday and most are expecting a significant announcement to be made regarding the implementation of a quantitative easing-style bond-buying program. All in all, though this week has been quiet, the next 7-10 days are surely going to heat up.

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