Gold and silver edged down again during last week. Unless there will be a last minute development, the U.S economy will jump over the “fiscal cliff”. These budget talks aren’t likely to end in 2012 as U.S policymakers could still introduce new tax cuts in the months to follow to avoid the U.S economy from slowing down. Due to the holidays the trade volume is expected to decline during the week, which might result in a drop in price volatility. Will gold and silver continue to decline? As I have pointed out in the latest precious metals weekly outlook, several reports may affect precious metals this week. These items include: U.S non-farm payroll report, minutes of the FOMC meeting, U.S manufacturing PMI and jobless claims weekly update. On today’s agenda: China Manufacturing PMI.
Here is a short outlook for precious metals for Monday, December 31st:
Precious Metals – December Update
On Friday, the price of gold slipped by 0.47% to $1,654.9; Silver price also declined by 0.87% to $29.92. During last week, gold edged down by 0.27%; silver, by 0.76%. Conversely, during last week, the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) edged up by 0.13% and reached by December 28th 160.54.
For the rest of the report you can see it at Seeking Alpha
Current Gold and Silver Rates as of December 31st
Gold (short term delivery) is traded at $1,669 per t oz. a $13.2 or 0.8% increase as of 08:50*.
Silver (short term delivery) is at $30.27 per t oz – a $0.29or 0.95% increase as of 08:50*.
(* GMT)
Here is a reminder of the top events and publications that are scheduled for today and tomorrow (all times GMT):
Today
02:00 – China Manufacturing PMI
Day after Tomorrow
08:15 – Spain and Italy’s Manufacturing PMI
09:30 – GB Manufacturing PMI
15:00 – U.S. Manufacturing PMI
For further reading: