Precious metals spot values have mostly traded within a small range this week, due to the fact that the marketplace has been generally quieter. Compared to last week, there has been almost no economic data made public, and what data has hit the market has failed to have much of an impact. Though this week has been slow and will more than likely continue to be, there was plenty for investors to talk about towards the end of last week’s trading session.
On Thursday, the European Central Bank met for their monthly policy meeting as the world watched on, waiting to hear an announcement regarding a shift in monetary policy. Unless you have been living under a rock, you are more than aware that the many countries and economies that make up the European Union have been struggling. As such, the market was expecting the ECB to announce a more drastic injection of cash as a way of attempting to stimulate the economy. Unfortunately, the meeting did not bring about any shifts in policy and was generally regarded as being a non-factor by the end of the day on Thursday.
After the somewhat disappointing ECB meeting, investors turned their attention to Friday’s October employment report from the United States. After September’s payrolls data showed that nearly 250,000 new jobs were created during that month, it only made sense that investors were expecting October’s figures to be just as robust. Much to the dismay of many investors, however, the actual figures that were released on Friday showed that only about 213,000 new jobs were created in October. Though this is definitely a solid number for monthly job growth, it fell far short of expectations and ended up putting a dent in the weekly progress made by equities and the greenback. For gold and silver, Friday’s jobs figures provided a much-needed end of the week boost.
Slow Week From an Economic, Geopolitical Perspective
Compared to last week, this week is basically devoid of any markets-moving economic data or talking points. Yesterday was a holiday in many parts of the world and, as such, trading across the global marketplace was much quieter and subdued than normal.
For gold and silver, this slow week has meant that the losses are not piling up. In fact, yesterday saw both gold and silver finish the day in the green, even if by only small margins. Over the next few days, investors will have the weekly jobless claims report to pay attention to, but not much else. As a result, you will see the attention of global investors almost solely fixated on currency and equity markets from around the world. European stocks have performed well this week on the back of some upbeat corporate earnings reports, but there is no saying how long that will last. For gold and silver, big gains are likely not to happen unless some unexpected piece of news or data breaks. The current market is extremely bearish, and apart from bargain-hunting buying attributed to lower prices, spot values will have a hard time doing anything other than declining.