Gold and silver both did not move very much today amid a quieter trading atmosphere as most people are gearing up for Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving holiday. While metals didn’t move all that much, there was plenty of US economic data for investors to talk about. Not only that, but a minor military incident in the East China Sea has also caused a small stir amongst investors.
Expect tomorrow to be the quietest day of the week as most of the American workforce will be taking the day off in order to be with their families and friends.
US Economic Data
Though there was a moderate helping of economic data released today, it was neither wholly positive or wholly negative. As a result, the data investors were greeted with today did not end up helping precious metals out at all.
The mixed bag of economic data pushed the US Dollar a bit higher which in turn caused the spot values of gold and silver to decline, but only slightly. In America, investors are mostly focusing on their families and their preparations for the holiday tomorrow. Though there will be no economic data or news stories to talk about tomorrow, Friday may bring with some news from other parts of the world, namely Europe.
Incident in East China Sea
In the early morning hours of Wednesday reports began circulating with regard to a seemingly minor military incident in the East China Sea. It was reported that US military aircraft were spotted flying over a hotly disputed chain of islands that both China and Japan have called their own. Though the islands are uninhabited, both Asian nations want them due to the strategic location and possible natural resource reserves.
From the looks of it, the US’ decision to fly over the islands was provocative in nature and it will be interesting to see what the Chinese government or military has to say about the matter. Seeing as the US is allies with both Japan and China, it seems like a strange move to silently pick sides in the matter. Though it is not expected that this situation will escalate in any capacity, safe-haven demand for precious metals got a tiny lift from the incident.