After Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke to the US House of Representatives and little to no change was realized by precious metals because of it, folks were hoping that Thursday would be different. Thursday kicks off round two of Bernanke’s speaking in front of Congress as he is set to greet the Senate.
Whenever Bernanke, or anyone else from the Fed for that matter, speaks to any group of people investors and market watchers tune in to see what he has to say. Since we are currently in a position where the future of US monetary policy is in question, paying attention to what Mr. Bernanke has to say becomes that much more important.
Bernanke to Address the Senate
Yesterday Bernanke addressed the House, and what he said ended up having very little impact on the spot values of gold and silver. His prepared remarks which were released in the morning initially boosted the outlook on gold and silver, but his post-speech Q&A session ended up bringing metals back down to earth.
It is unlikely that Bernanke’s remarks will change drastically from one day to the next and many are expecting his talking points to be very similar to what they were yesterday. Yesterday Bernanke stated that monetary policy will remain flexible as long as him and other members of the Fed see fit. He went on to strike down any rumors that say Quantitative Easing will be done away with by a certain date. According to him there is no preset timetable for QE’s end or alteration. In fact, he said that if the US economy were to take a dive in the coming months, the Fed is even open to boosting QE, a point that shocked quite a few people.
Other World News
Though it should come as no surprise, the majority of the world has been and will continue to be paying attention to what Ben Bernanke has to say. After yesterday’s speech and remarks Asian stocks made gains while European stocks saw mixed results.
European trading has not caught anyone’s attention lately as the trading atmosphere across the region has been relatively subdued. While this is happening, the economic situation throughout Europe continues to deteriorate in front of our eyes.
With spot values remaining as low as they are, it is still a great time for people to buy silver and gold. Even though bargain-hunters have not been seen as much lately, the bargains are still there to be had.