After performing decently through the first few days of the week, precious metals spot values have spent much of the day on Wednesday moving sideways to slightly lower. With a positive US housing report on the table today, it should come as no surprise that equities and the USD are beginning to once again trend higher. As we look ahead to the last few days of the week, I expect things to remain just as quiet and subdued as they have been through the first few days. Unfortunately for precious metals, however, a quiet market atmosphere will likely only see metals retain their bearish posture.

With such little economic data for investors to discuss and mull over this week, the attention of the market shifted yesterday to new conflicts unfolding in the Middle East. According to most major news outlets, Monday evening (US time) saw the US military begin launching air attacks against ISIS positions throughout Syria. Though Obama had made it clear a few weeks ago that he intends on using air power against ISIS positions in Syria, no one expected him to act so swiftly. As such, precious metals were given a boost on Tuesday, a boost stemming directly from safe-haven demand. It will be interesting to see how this situation unfolds over the coming weeks and months.

US Housing Data Comes Back Better Than Expected

Through the first few days of this week, a sub-par report on existing home sales in the United States during August ended up having a negative impact on the progress of the US Dollar and US equities. Today, however, all of that bad news was undone by a new home sales report that came back far better than anticipated. According to the report, new home sales in August were the best that they have been in more than 5 years. This news was surprising simply because no one was expecting the report to be upbeat, and even fewer were expecting it to be so drastically upbeat.

As a result, the USD Index came close to hitting a fresh 12-month high today. In addition, US equity markets performed well and continued piling the selling pressure on gold and silver. Unless some fundamental factor playing into the current market atmosphere shifts, I am afraid that metals may be under almost continuous selling pressure, especially considering that the market is expecting interest rate hikes to happen within the year.

The spot values of gold and silver are moving sideways today, but have performed decently through the first two days of the week. As you probably are well-aware by this point, the Federal Open Market Committee’s latest meeting is scheduled to wrap up today, and the results, or lack thereof, will be of the utmost importance to investors. In addition to this, investors in the UK and around the world are preparing for tomorrow, which will bring with it a Scottish referendum on independence.

In geopolitical news, things have been fairly quiet over the last week or so. Though Obama and his officials have alluded to the possibility of a more widespread fight against ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria, most of this has been nothing more than proposed talks and things of that nature. In Ukraine, a ceasefire agreement reached between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian military forces appears to be holding still–now in its second full week. Though the ceasefire agreement is not necessarily beneficial for precious metals, it is definitely welcomed by the people of war-torn Eastern Ukraine. It will be interesting to see where this situations heads in the coming days and weeks as there is no sure way of telling whether this ceasefire will lead to lasting peace or not.

The Eyes of Investors Shifts to FOMC Meeting

Unless you have been living under a rock in recent weeks, you are more than aware of the possibility of higher interest rates in the United States. Though it is not agreed upon when interest rates will be raised, most investors are sure that a hike is coming sooner rather than later.

For this reason, most investors from around the world are pay particularly close attention to the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, scheduled to wrap up sometime this afternoon. In addition to news on interest rates, the investing world would also like to hear about when exactly Quantitative Easing will be done away with. All of this information and more is expected to be made public sometime in the afternoon as that is when the FOMC meeting is scheduled to wrap up. After the meeting’s conclusion, Fed chairperson Janet Yellen is expected to speak to the media, and it is at this point where a boatload of information is expected to be uncovered. Whether this is the case or not remains to be seen, but we do know that the whole of the investing world will be hanging on to every one of Yellen’s words.

Though there is no way of telling what the rest of the week has in store for gold and silver, we do know that things will begin to pick up considerably in the coming hours.

Precious metals spot values are mixed to slightly lower during the early morning hours of Wednesday, pressured once again by the activity going on in currency markets. This week has thus far proven to be a good bit slower than expected, and that fact alone has weighed fairly heavy on the spot values of precious metals. With little to look forward to throughout the duration of this week, I expect that the attention of investors will remain locked on currencies from around the world.

On the geopolitical front, tensions in Ukraine are now just a shadow of what they were a few weeks and months ago. The reason for this is due to a ceasefire agreement that was reached last week between Russian/pro-Russian and Ukrainian military forces. Now, many humanitarian missions are playing out in some of the most war-torn regions of Ukraine. Though things are quiet now, we will continue to keep a close eye on Eastern Europe as there is no real way of telling how long this ceasefire will last or if it will lead to any real, concrete peace talks.

Next Week’s FOMC Meeting Takes Center Stage

Now that last week’s sub-par US employment report has been mulled over and digested, there really isn’t much for investors to focus on this week. While the progress of the US Dollar and continued devaluation of the Euro currency are very important to the investing world, there has been little else able to draw attention away from currency markets.

Next week, however, all that will change as the marketplace is gearing up for the Federal Open Market Committee’s latest policy meeting. With talks of higher interest rates in the near future and the imminent ending of Quantitative Easing, it seems as though this month’s meeting will yield a lot of useful information. In fact, just a day ago, a report released by the San Francisco Federal Reserve indicated that investors just might be underestimating how quickly the Fed can raise interest rates. This survey alone was enough to convince a boatload of investors that higher interest rates are coming sooner than originally anticipated. As a result, the US Dollar has been able to gain even more value against the declining Euro currency.

As time plays out, and EU economic policy continues to diverge from that of the United States, it is very likely that the value of the two regions’ respective currencies will continue to move in opposite directions. This news alone is none too favorable for precious metals.

Precious metals bounced back a bit today after suffering major losses only a day ago. Though the marketplace was a good bit quieter than it was on Tuesday, the rest of the week is set to bring about a flurry of investing activity due to the release of a few key economic reports from the US and an important meeting being held by the European Central Bank.

What’s more, the crisis in Ukraine is back in the headlines, this time due to talk of a potential ceasefire agreement being reached. Shortly after US markets opened this morning, reports streamed in claiming that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a ceasefire that would bring about calm to much of the war-torn parts of Eastern Ukraine. Unfortunately, shortly after these news stories broke, Russian sources claimed that the Russian government knew nothing about a ceasefire. As we head into the final two days of the week, investors the world over will be wanting to find out just a bit more about what exactly is going on in Eastern Europe.

Busy Ending To A Short Week

This week may only be packing in 4 days, but these 4 days are shaping up to be a good bit busier than the last two weeks combined. Not only have we already been dealt a decent bit of economic data from the US and around the world, but there is more to come.

Tomorrow, the marketplace will see its focus shift towards the monthly meeting of the European Central Bank. Most every ECB meeting is hawked over by investors, but this one in particular will be important due to the simple fact that more monetary stimulus may be on the table for the EU. If you remember back to a few weeks ago in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, ECB president Mario Draghi stated that more monetary stimulus may be in the future for the EU. Though there is no saying for sure whether that new stimulus will be announced tomorrow or not, investors will be paying attention nonetheless.

On Friday, the market’s attention will again shift, this time to the release of the US employment report from August. As it stands, the market is expecting at least 215,000 jobs to have been added. If the actual figures meet or exceed expectations, you can expect more selling pressure to be piled on gold and silver.

Though there is no saying for sure how the rest of this week will pan out, I am certain that things will be eventful and worth paying attention to.

Precious metals began the day in upbeat fashion, but by the time markets closed it was clear to see that they had once again fallen victim to stronger US equities. Generally speaking, this week has been very quiet and absent of any markets-moving economic data. As such, the price movement of precious metals has been within a fairly well-defined range.

A few geopolitical events captured the attention of the marketplace on Tuesday, but they did not do much in the way of aiding precious metals, but rather, prevented them from slipping further. According to Ukrainian military officials, another column of Russian tanks crossed over the border into Ukraine. On the same day, Moscow announced that it was planning on sending another humanitarian aid convoy into the most war-torn regions of Eastern Ukraine. It will be interesting to see how these events play out over the coming days and weeks because, as always, they stand the chance of moving the spot values of precious metals in one direction or another.

Subdued Marketplace Continues for Yet Another Day

This week has thus far panned out exactly like you would a late-August week to. There have been very few major marketplace developments and even less economic data on the table. US equities have performed well for a majority of this week, and that has naturally made it hard for gold and silver to gain much of any traction. The S&P 500 in particular performed well so far this week, especially considering it crossed over the 2,000 threshold for the first time in its history. The index has since more or less sustained those gains and is, like most US equity markets, in a very strong position at present.

The US Dollar Index trended downward today, but it has also been performing well lately and has been bashing rivals such as the Euro currency. Especially after last week, when European Central Bank president Mario Draghi alluded that further monetary stimulus may be coming in the near future, the Euro has been under a lot of pressure.

Through the rest of this week I expect that things will remain more or less the same. There isn’t too much economic data on the slate and while investors are focusing, to some degree, on the geopolitical issues going on throughout the world, they aren’t having too much of an impact on the spot values of precious metals.

Precious metals are not moving too far in any one direction, but are definitely showing some signs of weakness as of the writing of this post. With the release of the Fed’s minutes from their latest policy meeting right around the corner, most investors are simply holding their positions and waiting to see what the minutes have to say. With that said, however, both the USD index and most US equity markets are continuing to edge ever so slightly higher. This week has already proven to be pretty quiet and it is shaping up like such will remain the case throughout the duration of the week and month.

FOMC Minutes Distracting Investors

This week is not expected to bring about much in the way of economic data, but today is an exception due to the scheduled release of the FOMC’s minutes from their latest meeting. As has been the case for the past few months, investors will be picking the minutes apart in hopes of hearing some more information with regard to the future of interest rates in the United States. At present, most everyone knows that interest rates are soon to be risen, but no one is quite sure exactly when it is going to happen. Some are convinced that the rate hike will occur sometime next summer, but others think it is coming much sooner than that.

In my opinion, I don’t think the minutes will offer much insight with regard to the future of interest rates. Instead, I feel as though they will reiterate the Fed’s already well-known stance. In the past, high-ranking members of the Federal Reserve have made it clear that once the employment sector shows sustained signs of improvement, then and only then will interest rate hikes be considered.

Looking ahead to the latter parts of the week, there really won’t be too much for investors to pay attention to. The exception to that, of course, is the global central bankers meeting scheduled to kick off on Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. With Federal Reserve chairperson Janet Yellen expected to make a speech, you can bet that investors from around the world will be paying close attention.

Precious metals are seeing their spot values slowly but surely diminish after receiving some initial support this morning. On the whole, this week is very quiet and has not and likely will not, offer much in the way of markets-moving economic data. That previous statement was proven false in some ways this morning, when a US retail sales report was made public. Other than that, however, this week is so quiet that the market has no choice but to continuously focus on the ongoing geopolitical situations developing around the world.

Retail Sales Support Precious Metals, But Only Momentarily

Shortly after US markets opened today, a US retail sales report was made public and showed somewhat disappointing figures. After June’s report saw retail sales increase by two tenths of a percentage point on an annualized basis, many were expecting July’s figures to yield much of the same. Unfortunately, however, it was reported that July retail sales remained unchanged from what was recorded in June. This news worked to initially limit the selling pressure being experienced by precious metals, but as of the writing of this post, that support had all but diminished.

Now, spot values are beginning to slide as US equities and the US Dollar continue trekking forward. There is some keener risk-appetite being shown by investors around the world, and that is translating into gains being made by US equities. Recently, the performance of US stocks has been the number 1 factor preventing gold and silver from making any gains worth talking about. Even when geopolitical factors boost safe-haven demand, the general interest in US equities prevents safe-haven demand from making too large of an impact on the spot values of precious metals.

As we move forward into this week, it is likely that the attention of investors will remain scattered, but mostly fixated upon a potential standoff between Ukrainian military forces and a Russian humanitarian convoy. The story, which broke on Monday, says that a more than 200 truck convoy is headed from Moscow to the war torn Ukrainian city of Luhansk. Though Russian officials have yet to confirm where the convoy is officially headed, most believe that Luhansk, whose resident have been without running water and electricity for more than ten days now, is its end-destination. It will be interesting to see how this situation plays out over the next couple days and whether or not it translates into increased violence throughout Eastern Ukraine. Though there are no confirmed reports with regard to when the convoy will reach the Ukrainian border, it is more than likely going to happen in the next day or two.

Precious metals are moving directly upwards through the first half of the day on Wednesday as the market is paying more attention to violence, or potential violence, between Ukraine and Russia. US stocks began the day doing well, but by the time word of Russia’s potential military intervention in Ukraine got around, investors began to grow a bit more uneasy. Unlike last week, this week is not expected to yield all that much in the way of US economic data.

Last week, however, brought about a good bit of US economic data, including the second-quarter GDP report. On an annualized basis, it was reported that the US economy grew by more than 4% during this year’s second quarter, a number that beat expectations by a long shot. While this news caused US stocks to move upward, Friday’s July employment report did exactly the opposite. Compared to expectations holding that more than 230,000 jobs would be added to the US economy in July, it was reported that only 209,000 jobs were created last month. This news dealt stocks a blow, albeit a temporary one.

Market’s Focus Shifts Back to Russia

Despite the fact that a number of geopolitical events have been simmering on the back-burner of the market’s attention, they really haven’t caught the full attention of investors. This week, however, a lack of any new economic data combined with a few new developments have caused investors to focus on the tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

On Monday of this week, a Polish foreign minister was quoted as saying that tens of thousands of troops were massing on Russia’s Western border with Ukraine. Though no forces have crossed over the border, there is a growing belief that Russia may, at some point in the near future, enter Ukraine under the pretext of a humanitarian mission. Though the Kremlin has not commented in any amount of detail with regard to what their plans with troops on the border are, the market is growing increasingly uneasy. What the Kremlin has said in recent days, however, is that Russia is now banning, for one year, all agricultural products from countries who have imposed sanctions upon the Russia Federation.

Looking ahead to the last few days of the week, it is likely that the market’s attention will remain fixated on the crisis in Ukraine. There is not very much economic data on the slate, and apart from watching the progress of US equity markets, investors do not have much to preoccupy themselves with. So long as the marketplace is fixated on violence, or the potential for violence, precious metals are likely to experience underlying support.

Precious metals are not faring very well today after some better than expected earnings reports and US economic data was made public. In addition to investors mulling over the United States’ second-quarter GDP data, they are also gearing up for the conclusion of the most recent FOMC policy meeting and post-meeting statement made by Janet Yellen. In addition to the flurry of economic data being released today and this week, investors also have plenty of ongoing geopolitical developments to talk about. When it comes down to it, the next few days and weeks are shaping up to be uncharacteristically busy for the middle of summer.

Earnings, GDP Reports Boost Dollar and Equities

The last two weeks have played host to a number of earnings reports, but few have been more upbeat than what we saw from Twitter today. After its second-quarter performance beat forecasts and representatives from Twitter boosted their sales forecast for this year, Twitter’s shares were seen soaring, up by more than 20% as of the writing of this post. Generally speaking, US equities are seen benefiting from the economic data made public thus far today.

Adding to upbeat earnings from Twitter was a US second-quarter GDP report which showed the US economy growing by more than was forecast. With annualized growth of more than 4%, the US economy is clearly showing signs of improvement. This data helped keep the Dollar trending higher as it continues to make gains against the euro currency. Now, the eyes of the investing world turn to today’s FOMC meeting, which is expected to wrap up sometime this afternoon. Perhaps more important than the meeting itself will be the post-meeting statement made by the chairperson of the Federal Reserve. While it is the hope of many that Ms. Yellen will shed some light on when and by how much interest rates will be raised, it is my opinion that investors will be given little to no info regarding interest rates. Instead, I expect Ms. Yellen to talk about the Fed’s continued tapering of the Quantitative Easing monetary policy. After all, QE is expected to be completely eliminated by sometime this upcoming Fall.

As we head into the latter half of the week, all this economic data in conjunction with the large number of ongoing geopolitical happenings will be catching the attention of investors. With the death toll on the Gaza Strip rising daily, and fighting between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian forces near Donetsk intensifying, the duration of this week is shaping up to be fairly exciting.

Precious metals have started the first half of the day on Wednesday in unimpressive fashion as they are trading even to slightly lower. With little markets-moving economic data on the slate today, the market continues to focus on the incredibly busy geopolitical atmosphere. Despite safe-haven demand for precious metals this week being only a shadow of what it was a week ago, investors are still showing visible signs of uneasiness with regard to what the next few weeks hold from a geopolitical standpoint.

Investor Worries Diminish, But Still Exist

Roughly a week ago, the global marketplace delved into a state of panic upon hearing the news of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH-17 being shot out of the sky over Eastern Ukraine by surface-to-air missiles. Reports streamed in all day, but it was quickly uncovered that the passenger flight was presumed to be shot out of the sky by pro-Russian separatists who have control of large expanses of Eastern Ukraine. Because the rebels are alleged to be directly funded, supplied, and trained by Russia, many world leaders are blaming the Russians for not doing enough to prevent such tragic events from happening. With US-Russian relations already strained as a result of Russia’s involvement in the turmoil that has been taking place in Ukraine over the last 6 months or so, things are only bound to get worse. As Russia continues to ignore the world’s pleas for intervention in Ukraine, their relationship with the United States will only grow increasingly distant.

So long as tensions between world powers are as strained as they are currently, investors are naturally becoming a bit more uneasy. As a result, demand for safe-haven assets has been high over the past few weeks. With that said, however, investor uneasiness this week is much less severe than it was a week ago.