1321939009

October 23rd Silver Market Update

Gold and silver, for a second consecutive day, traded downward. Though this week has been almost entirely quiet from an economic standpoint, there has been plenty for investors to talk about. For one, there are rumors abounding that leading members of the European Central Bank will soon be announcing plans to boost an asset buying program eerily similar to the waning quantitative easing program of the United States. These rumors alone have been enough to cause the Euro to continue declining against a number of rival currencies, including the US Dollar.

The geopolitical sphere has been generally free from activity this week, but yesterday brought tragic news out of Ottawa, Canada, where a lone gunman shot and killed a soldier and proceeded to storm the Canadian Parliament building where he was eventually met with force and killed by responding law enforcement officers. The actions caused equity markets here in the US and around the world to back down, but by the time markets opened today, things were more or less back to normal. The search in Canada, however, continues as there are plenty of rumors claiming that the gunmen who was slain did not act alone.

US Stocks, US Dollar Have Upbeat Weeks

Apart from yesterday’s backing down of US equity markets, this week has thus far proven to be wholly positive for both US stocks as well as the US Dollar. Giving the Dollar an additional boost today was a report that weekly jobless claims have now fallen to their lowest point in nearly 15 years.Over the course of the past few months, the US labor market has shown significant signs of improvement, something that has prompted investors to wonder why the Fed is so reluctant to raise interest rates from near-0 levels.

Unfortunately, many experts predict that the last two months of 2014 may bring about some tough times for the US economy. This, coupled with other factors, is really keeping the Fed’s hands tied.

The US Dollar, which has been doing well as of late as well, has made gains against the Japanese Yen for a 6th consecutive day. So long as Japan and Europe continue pursuing monetary policies that will ultimately devalue their respective currencies, the US Dollar will only continue to benefit. For precious metals, however, the surging US Dollar will likely only work to limit the buying interest experienced. This week along, physical demand for gold and silver has seen a rapid decline that is likely turning what started out as a week of gains into the first weekly loss metals have seen in the past three.