Precious metals traded near even for a majority of the day, but were seen conceding marginal amounts of value by the time markets closed. Today and this week have been generally quiet and typical of a late-summer week. There has not been too much economic data on the slate and there really isn’t too much to look forward to. The attention of investors from around the world continues to be on the progress of US equity markets as well as hints with regard to future monetary policy decisions being made by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.
Geopolitical developments have also caught the attention of the marketplace this week, but they have not had all that much of an affect on the movement of spot values. There have been recent flare up in the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, but these tensions fade from the headlines as quickly as they enter them. Still, the market will continue to analyze every piece of information stemming from the ongoing situation in Eastern Europe.
Quiet Market Favors Stocks
Thus far this week, the quiet market atmosphere has made it relatively easy for US equity markets to make gains. With an increasing number of investors under the impression that interest rates in the US will soon be on the rise, the interest in gold and silver as alternative investments is fading, and fading fast. This growing sentiment has paved the way for the S&P 500 to break all-time record highs. Earlier this week, the index crossed over the 2,000 threshold for the first time in its history. More surprisingly is the fact that the S&P has been able to sustain those gains over the course of two days or so.
Despite the USD index performing well for more than the past month or so, today saw it slip up a bit. The Euro currency added a bit of value today, but in general has been fairly weak over the last few weeks. So long as the European Central Bank is planning on implementing even more monetary stimulus, something that was alluded to by ECB president Mario Draghi last week, the Euro is only likely to move even further down in value. What’s more, the prospect of raised interest rates in the US is one of the biggest factors aiding the greenback as of late.
As we move forward into this week, I am not expecting all that much to change. Things are likely to remain subdued and quiet as few economic or geopolitical events are threatening to make too large of a splash. With that said, however, anything can happen over the next two or so days.
