The spot values of gold and silver continue to be stuck in their ever-growing downward trend, but today offered a bit of respite in the form of downbeat stocks and a weaker US Dollar. In all, this week did not bring about a large quantity of economic data, but come tomorrow, that will all change. In fact, today saw the European Central Bank meet for their monthly policy meeting, and the outcome of that meeting was of particular interest to investors.
On the geopolitical front, the eyes of the world have been fixated upon what is happening in Hong Kong at present. Beginning late last week, the people of Hong Kong have taken to the streets in protest of what they are calling an increasingly restrictive government. Though the protests have been, for the most part, peaceful, the fact that such unrest is taking place in the financial capital of the world is unsettling for investors and has taken its toll on equity markets throughout much of this week. As the days and weeks play out from this point forward, it is likely that we will continue watching and analyzing everything that is taking place in Hong Kong. After all, the protest’s leaders have maintained that they will not rest until top city officials step down; something that doesn’t seem likely to happen anytime soon.
ECB Meeting Does More to Confuse Than Anything Else
Today brought about the most recent meeting of the European Central Bank, and though it was announced that the ECB would be purchasing private securities as a means of stimulating the economy, few other details were provided. While many experts and investors bet that the private security purchases would be enough to markedly expand the ECB’s balance sheet such that the Euro would suffer further depreciation, the lack of details provided by the ECB ended up giving the Euro a much-needed boost.
Though the overall outlook on the Euro currency is bleak, at best, today provided some support that has not been seen over the course of the last few months. Now, the attention of the world will shift to the release of the United States most recent employment report from September. As it stands, the market is expecting well over 200,000 jobs to have been added last month, though there is no guaranteeing that such will prove to be the case. As you could have probably guessed, an employment report that falls short of expectations stands the chance of giving precious metals a bit of underlying, temporary support.