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Silver Price News: Silver Drifts Lower to Test $22.50
Silver prices came under downward pressure at the start of the week, falling as low as $22.46 an ounce on Tuesday. That compared with around $22.95 an ounce at the end of the previous week.
The backdrop for silver markets was more subdued at the start of the week, with gold prices struggling to build on the previous week’s gains.
Silver prices did manage to reach $22.70 an ounce on Tuesday, only to slip back to around $22.50 an ounce later in the session.
US durable goods orders figures for January were released Tuesday, showing a 6.1% drop from the previous month – larger than the market’s expected 4.5%. The figures were notionally bullish from a monetary policy perspective, as they imply the need for interest rate cuts. However, the implication for industrial demand for silver was negative, as durable goods include electronics and medical equipment – both sources of industrial demand for the metal. Read More
Gold Price News: Gold Range Bound As Markets Await US Data
Gold prices were range bound on Tuesday, ending the day little changed from the previous day.
Prices briefly climbed to just under $2,040 an ounce, compared with $2,031 an ounce in late deals Monday. However, the upward move could not be sustained, and prices fell back through the afternoon to trade at around the $2,030 mark in late trades.
US durable goods orders figures came out Thursday, showing a monthly drop of 6.1% in January, significantly larger than the market’s expected 4.5% fall. This was the largest monthly drop since April 2020, and suggests the US economy may have made a weaker start to 2024 than many had expected. However, the monthly figures tend to be volatile and one month of data alone would not be expected to carry much weight. The markets will be watching out for February’s figure, as two consecutive downturns of that magnitude might be seen as more significant.
Other things being equal, signs of a weaker economy would be expected to support gold as they imply greater pressure on central banks to cut interest rates – a bullish outcome for assets that don’t generate a yield. Read More
Gold prices treading water below $2,050 as U.S. GDP grows 3.2% in Q4
The gold market is struggling to hold on to gains even as U.S. economic activity was slightly weaker than expected in the final three months of 2023.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said Wednesday that its second estimate of fourth-quarter Gross Domestic Product showed that the economy expanded by 3.2%. The data was slightly weaker than expected, as economists were looking for an unchanged reading at 3.3%.
Although the headline data missed consensus forecasts, some economists note that the economy remains relatively healthy, driven by solid consumption.
“The increase in real GDP reflected increases in consumer spending, exports, state and local government spending, non-residential fixed investment, federal government spending, and residential fixed investment that were partly offset by a decrease in private inventory investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased,” the report said. Read More
Silver: A contrarian's silver lining
In markets where scepticism prevails, the least favoured assets, such as silver, offer significant opportunities for investors, Rick Rule emphasized in a recent interview with Jeremy Szafron, Anchor at Kitco News. His analysis comes at a crucial time when silver prices, as of mid-February 2024, show a promising uptick to $22.70 USD per ounce, reflecting a market responding to both industrial demand and investment interest. Rule's assertion, "I like silver because it's roundly hated. The silver squeeze in 2021 generated a whole new generation that hates silver. And there is nothing that I like as much as a market that's hated," underscores a belief in silver's rebound potential amid widespread disfavour.
This perspective aligns with industry forecasts predicting increased demand for silver, particularly driven by its applications in solar energy and electronics. Despite the market's short-term volatility, the fundamental value of silver, bolstered by growing industrial uses, supports Rule's optimistic outlook for the metal's investment potential. Read More
Gold and silver holding their ground as headwinds rage, Saxo Bank
Although the gold market continues to grind in a narrow trading range, one bank remains impressed with its relative strength even as it prepares to end February with a slight loss.
Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said that gold has held up well, given the headwinds it has faced since the start of the year. Spot gold is currently trading around $2,033 an ounce, down only $6 from January’s closing price, even as U.S. 10-year bond yields hold near a two-month-high.
“Despite the rising 'cost' of holding a non-interest paying gold position and the market's current obsession with AI-related stocks and cryptos, the yellow metal has done well amid underlying demand for physical gold as well as the softer dollar,” Hansen said in his latest note. Read More
Gold market's widest divide spells new opportunities- Ross Beaty
The gold market is currently navigating through uncharted waters, presenting a phenomenon that even industry veteran and mining magnate Ross Beaty finds unparalleled. Beaty has founded and divested several resource companies and is currently the chairman of Pan American Silver Corp and Alterra Power Corp. For the first time in his illustrious 39-year career, a glaring disconnection has emerged between the soaring prices of gold and the lagging valuations of gold mining stocks. "In my entire career, it's never been this bad. It's the worst discrepancy I've seen in decades," Beaty said, pinpointing a significant anomaly that challenges traditional market correlations and investor expectations.
This divergence occurs as gold itself has seen a remarkable performance, with spot gold surging to a 13% annual rise in 2023, its best year since 2020, and reaching a record high of $2,135.40 per ounce in December. Currently, at the time of publishing, spot gold was trading at $2035. Meanwhile, larger-cap gold mining stocks, represented by the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX), have lost 16.95% year to date. Junior gold stocks, in general, have seen similar returns, with the VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) down -17.95% year to date.
What’s the problem with evaluations? Watch the full video for more from Ross Beaty.
Global central banks accelerate gold acquisitions amid dollar diversification strategy - Bob Minter
Central banks around the world are accelerating their gold purchases, a move that Bob Minter, Director of Investment Strategy at Aberdeen Standard Investments, believes is a strategic pivot away from the US dollar amid geopolitical tensions. In an interview with Jeremy Szafron, Anchor at Kitco News, Minter pointed out that the use of the dollar as a tool of US foreign policy, spanning four presidential administrations, has pushed emerging market countries to diversify their foreign exchange reserves. "All four presidents have used the dollar's reserve status as a means or an arm of US foreign policy," Minter said, underscoring the political neutrality of this trend.
This shift towards gold is seen as a critical hardening of currency in an uncertain global financial landscape. "You harden your currency with gold. You don't harden it with, you know, a cryptocurrency. So gold is key to a key part of the monetary system," Minter said, pointing out gold's enduring value and stability compared to the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies. Read More
The core PCE price index is expected to double in January month over month
Tomorrow, the government will release the Fed’s preferred metric for gauging inflation, the core Personal Consumption Expenditure price index. The most recent forecasts are anticipating that core inflation on a month-over-month basis will double from 0.2% to 0.4%. Compared to one year ago (Jan. 2023) the core PCE came at 0.5%. For the second half of 2023, core inflation was only 0.1%. With only September (0.3%) and December (0.2%) running hotter.
Precious and industrial metals except copper all experienced price declines today. Spot gold declined by $0.40 today and is currently fixed at $2043.70. Silver declined by $0.09 and now is currently valued at $22.66. Platinum lost $13.4, and palladium declined by $18.20, which was the largest percentage decline of the precious metals group. Read More
Gold, silver slightly down as next U.S. inflation data point awaited
Gold and silver prices are modestly down near midday Wednesday. A firmer U.S. dollar index today is a negative “outside market” force working against the precious metals market bulls. Also, the near-term technical postures for gold and silver are still leaning bearish, which is inviting some of the chart-based traders to the sell sides. April gold was last down $3.10 at $2,041.00. March silver was last down $0.182 at $22.35.
The bigger U.S. data point of the week is likely going to be Thursday morning’s personal income and outlays report for January, which also includes the PCE inflation indexes. The PCE price index in January is seen up 2.6%, year-on-year, while the core PCE price index is seen up 2.9% in the same period. Those forecasts are just slightly higher than the readings seen in the December report. It’s been said the Federal Reserve officials pay extra close attention to the inflation data in the personal income and outlays report.
Technically, April gold futures bears have the slight overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are in a three-month-old downtrend on the daily bar chart. Bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at the February high of $2,083.20. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $2,000.00. First resistance is seen at last week’s high of $2,053.20 and then at $2,061.00. First support is seen at today’s low of $2,033.40 and then at $2,025.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 4.5.
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March silver futures bears have the overall near-term technical advantage. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at the February high of $23.56. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at the February low of $21.975. First resistance is seen at Tuesday’s high of $22.71 and then at $23.00. Next support is seen at today’s low of $22.245 and then at $22.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 3.0. Read More
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Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
