Gold and silver have made some small gains after consistent losses have marred their past 3 or 4 days. The European Central Bank is scheduled to have their meeting this Thursday, a meeting which is expected to yield a change to monetary policy across the region.
In other news, the steadily declining euro currency has paved a clear path for the US Dollar to make decent gains. Most of these stories and bits of data translate and have been translating into heavy downward pressure being placed on precious metals.
The European Central Bank Meeting
The European Central Bank’s monthly policy meeting is a lot like the FOMC meeting we just witnessed in the United States. Because of that, investors will monitor Thursday’s meeting with intense scrutiny in hopes of hearing about possible changes to current monetary policies.
As of now, the overriding belief is that the ECB’s key interest rate will be slashed. This belief stems from a series of economic reports released recently which highlight a very slow economy as well as all-time low inflation rates. With economies other than that of Germany’s performing poorly across Europe, many feel as though there has never been a better time for the ECB to take some action. The increasingly accepted notion that there will be at least some sort of change to monetary policy in Europe as a result of this meeting has prompted European stocks to make impressive gains while the euro currency is rapidly declining in value.
The euro’s decline has made it possible for the USD to post substantial gains, something that has not helped the spot values of gold and silver. Additionally, recent US economic reports have mostly been better than expected, which is even worse for precious metals because it will bolster the belief that US monetary policy could be changed before the year’s end. Nonetheless, gold and silver were able to make some small gains on Wednesday thanks to an increased amount of bargain-hunting buying.
Chinese Communist Party Meeting
Another meeting stealing headlines this week is the Chinese Communist Party meeting. This is a meeting held so that top Chinese officials can come together and lay out their plans in regards to improving their country.
According to Bloomberg.com, this meeting will be centered around making massive reforms because the country is on course to produce its slowest economic growth in more than 20 years. The meeting will be held beginning on Saturday the 9th and concluding on Tuesday the 12th.