Gold and silver spot values began the day moving downward, but things corrected themselves before long. The safe-haven demand we saw earlier this week has since faded into the background as risk-appetite abounds. The uptick in investor risk appetite is clearly illustrated by the resurgence of US stocks. Stock indexes that saw massive downturns only a few days ago are now back to adding considerable value.
This week has already played host to quite a bit of economic data, but we are far from having heard the last of the data. With more reports due out today, tomorrow, and next week, investors will have plenty of economic data to mull over as the next few weeks play out. In addition to this, investors will also be concerned about the possible outcomes of both the upcoming European Central Bank and FOMC meetings. As it stands, investors are anticipating that the ECB meeting will see a major policy shift announced, though that remains to be seen.
Investors Look Ahead to Monetary Policy Meetings
While there is no denying that investors are eager to pick apart recent economic data, it seems as though they are even more eager to hear from global central banks at their upcoming policy meetings. The European Central Bank meeting, in particular, is one that has caught the attention of investors already. The reason for this being that most investors are expecting the ECB to announce a bond-buying program similar to the quantitative easing we saw play out in the United States. Though it is not a definite that such an announcement will be made at the next ECB meeting, most investors are convinced that it is.
Because of this speculation, the Euro has taken a beating this week and is trading at fresh multi-year lows against the US Dollar. This is a trend that is widely expected to continue through the early parts of 2015 as the US Dollar is expected to keep gaining strength.
From the United States, yesterday brought about the minutes from the FOMC’s most recent December meeting. For those hoping to hear some fresh information regarding the future of interest rates in the United States, yesterday did not bring about anything resembling that. Instead, yesterday’s minutes saw the FOMC reiterate their intent to keep interest rates at near-zero levels for the foreseeable future. In fact, most are anticipating that interest rates will remain at current levels at least through the first quarter of 2015. Of course, as with anything regarding the FOMC, that is liable to change.