The prices of gold and silver didn’t do much yesterday as they both changed direction again and slipped on Thursday. Nonetheless, throughout the week both precious metals moved in an unclear trend as they zigzagged from gains to losses on a daily scale. In the U.S the government shutdown continues. This shutdown also means that U.S official reports such as the non-farm payroll report won’t be published this week. In the meantime, yesterday a couple of reports showed mixed signals regarding the progress of the U.S economy: jobless claims remained low with a rose of 1k to reach 308k; non-manufacturing PMI report showed the index fell to 54.4 points – this means the non-manufacturing sectors are growing at a slower pace. These news items, however, seem to have little effect on the forex and commodities markets. Will gold and silver continue to zigzag? On today’s agenda: Canada’s Ivey PMI, and Japan’s monetary policy meeting and press conference.
Here is a short overview for precious metals for Friday, September 4th:
Gold and Silver Prices Recap – October Update
On Thursday, gold slipped by 0.23% to $1,317.4; Silver also pulled down by 0.38% to $21.76. During the week, gold decreased by 1.57%; silver inched down by 0.09%. In the chart below are the normalized prices of bullion for 2013 (normalized to 100 as of August 30th). The prices of gold and silver haven’t done much in the past week.
The ratio between the two precious metals slightly rose on Thursday to 60.53. During the week, the ratio decreased by 1.07% as silver has slightly out-performed gold.
On Today’s Agenda
Japan’s monetary policy meeting and press conference: In the forthcoming Japanese monetary policy meeting, BOJ members will decide on any shifts to the bank’s current asset purchase program. This decision may affect the Japanese yen;
Canada‘s Ivey PMI: This report presents the diffusion index based on surveyed purchasing managers; in the recent monthly update, the index rose to 51. The report might affect the Canadian dollar.
Currencies / Precious Metals– October Update
On Thursday, the Euro/ USD currency pair rose again by 0.29% to 1.3619. During the week, the Euro/USD increased by 0.72%. Further, other currencies such as the Canadian dollar and Aussie dollar also slightly appreciated yesterday against the U.S dollar by 0.10% and 0.04%, respectively. The correlations among gold, Euro and Aussie have weakened in recent weeks, e.g. the correlation between the Euro/USD and gold price is only 0.21 during September/October. The chart below shows the correlations among forex and precious metals prices.
Here is a reminder of the top events and publications that are scheduled for today (all times GMT):
Today
Tentative – Japan’s monetary policy meeting and press conference
15:00 – Canada’s Ivey PMI
For further reading:
- Gold and Silver Outlook for October 2013
- Gold and Silver Weekly Forecast for September 30- October 4
- Weekly Outlook of Financial Markets for September 30- October 4
- Gold and Silver Yearly Outlook For 2013