Precious metals are trending downward today, but losses are being mitigated thanks to a weekly jobless claims report that saw more people in the US file for unemployment benefits. Other than that one report, however, there really hasn’t been too much in the way of economic data for investors to focus on. Like last week, this one is also a holiday week and sees the New Year’s Day holiday fall on Thursday. As a result of this, things have been generally quiet and market activity is light.
As we bring 2014 to a close, it is only right that we reflect on what the last 12 months have brought about. For gold and silver, 2014 was a a year to forget. But for the US economy, the last 12 months have brought about a good amount of growth as the US economy is now the world’s top-performer. Unfortunately, so long as the US economy continues to perform well, it will likely mean bad news for the precious metals market.
US Stocks, Dollar Make Strides Forward Before New Year
For yet another day, US stocks as well as the US Dollar have been adding value at every turn. For gold and silver, this is bad news simply because investors are so bullish on stocks that they have almost completely lost interest in metals. In this bearish market, gold and silver will have a tough time making gains and an even tougher time retaining those gains. Just yesterday, metals added significant value, but by the time things were all said and done on Wednesday, most of that value had been conceded.
As surprising as it may seem, a sub-par weekly jobless claims report released today was not even enough to derail stocks nor the US Dollar. According to the report, this past week saw just shy of 300,000 people file for unemployment benefits. With almost 20,000 more people filing last week than the week before, this report is definitely something worth paying attention to. With that said, however, the United States employment sector has been performing well as of late so I do not think today’s weekly jobless claims will have any major impact on the market.
Looking ahead to the rest of the week, it is likely that things will remain quiet simply because investors are holding their positions until we receive year-end economic data over the course of the next few weeks.