December 24th Midweek Gold Market Update

Precious metals spot values are not far from where they began the day and are not looking like they will venture too far in any one direction. Being that today is Christmas Eve, most traders have taken the day off, but even those who decided to come into work today will likely be leaving early. For all intents and purposes, the duration of this week will more than likely be characteristic of a holiday trading week. There isn’t too much economic data on this week’s slate, and that is only working to make the market atmosphere even quieter.

As surprising as it is, this week did already play host to some interesting economic data from the United States. Unfortunately for gold and silver, this data worked against spot values and saw modest losses pile up through the first two trading days of the week. At this point in time, it is still quite clear that the global market is bearish and none too interested in precious metals.

US 3rd Quarter GDP Revised Upward

The big news of the week came yesterday when it was reported that the 3rd-quarter GDP of the United States actually improved by better than originally recorded. For the timeframe covering July-September, the US economy grew by 5% on an annualized basis, according to the newly revised report. Original readings held that growth was over 3%, but due to an increase in consumer spending and business investment, that reading was forced to be revised upward.

In the wake of this revision, stocks as well as the US Dollar poked upward. In fact, the past 5 days or so have seen US equity markets and those in Europe posting nice gains. While there was plenty of safe-haven demand for gold and silver a few weeks ago as a result of global economic worries, that safe-haven demand has almost entirely faded away.

As we look ahead to the rest of the week, it is quite clear that there really isn’t much to look forward to. Investors from around the world, for the most part, will be taking the day off tomorrow and we will see a marketplace that is quieter than perhaps any other day of the year. I do not expect that gold and silver spot values will be moving too far, but if they do move at all, my guess is that it will be downward. Next week will breed much of the same quiet market atmosphere as the New Year’s Eve holiday falls on Wednesday and New Year’s Day falls on Thursday. All in all, most investors are simply holding their positions until the new year and all the fresh economic data that comes with that.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *