Gold and silver have been trading very well over the past couple of trading sessions. That ended on Friday as the two precious metals took a deep dive to finish off the trading week.
December gold futures dipped $10.10, or 0.47%, to $1,340.99 per ounce at 17:03 GMT. Gold topped $1,350 an ounce twice this week on news that the Federal Reserve will take a slow approach to raising interest rates for the remainder of 2016 and in early 2017.
Silver also took a beating to end the week. September silver futures slipped $0.40, or 2.03%, to $19.34 an ounce. Silver has been rather volatile throughout much of August as the metal has regularly crossed back and forth the important $20-
Although the US central bank will likely not be raising interest rates until perhaps December or February, there have been conflicting statements from the Fed and its officials. Traders will attempt to disseminate the information until Fed Chair Janet Yellen delivers a speech during the central bank’s annual summer retreat in Wyoming next week. This is where she is expected to provide some clues to
Both metals can be negatively affected in a
The market is ultimately taking a
Meanwhile, the US economy has once again produced mixed signals.
It was reported that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. Also, manufacturing activity in the US experienced a slight bump this month so far. US home sales climbed to a
On the other hand, US retail sales in July weakened and the producer price index (PPI) unexpectedly declined. Both reports sent US investors into the eurozone bond market.
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