Precious metals dropped hard today as accelerating economic growth in the United States spurred concerns that the Federal Reserve may refrain from further monetary easing. US gross domestic product grew 3.1 percent in the third quarter of 2012 from the preceding quarter, compared to the forecast of 2.8 percent. Fears of the fiscal cliff in the USA were not helping the metals either.
Gold and silver demonstrated a huge drop this week, reaching lows not seen since August. What is even more concerning: the metals are nearing this year’s opening, threatening to erase all gains of 2012. The rally is still possible as the holiday season is coming, but market analysts doubt that the precious metals will get anywhere near this year’s highs before a new year will start.
Gold slumped from $1,667.20 to $1,648.68 per troy ounce as of 23:14 GMT on COMEX today and its daily low of $1,635.69 was weakest since August 22. Silver dropped from $31.04 to $29.92 per ounce, reaching the low of $29.54 intraday — also the lowest since August 22. Platinum retreated from $1,589.50 to $1,550.25 per ounce and palladium went down from $691.10 to $678.00 per ounce today.
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