Closing Gold & Silver Market Report – 1/6/2012
January 6, 2012WORLD LEADERS READY CRISIS OIL PLAN     
Precious metals prices have remained relatively stable since the Mid-Day Gold & Silver Market Report. Although Gold has eased today, it has rebounded from the lows of late 2011. In general, people are feeling more comfortable with the economic recovery. Fred Schoenstein, metals trader at Heraeus, said, “Gold came under pressure because people are a bit more comfortable with the recovery of the economy, but it is going to remain range-bound until we get some significant news to push it into either direction.” Analysts expect 2012 to be another year of growth for Gold. Forces driving that thought are currency fears and ongoing central bank buying.
A lot of economic news that has been released recently has pointed to a slow but positive economic situation. As unemployment falls, payrolls climb and manufacturing grows, hopes are rising that there will remain enough forward momentum that any world recessions or slowdowns will not have as great an impact to the U.S. John Hermann of State Street Global Markets in Boston said, “Markets are absolutely preoccupied about the risks from Europe and the U.S. housing market. … Yet, we’re finding the economy continues to hold together fairly resiliently. We’re getting a good handoff from the fourth quarter.” Those sentiments were echoed by Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at BlackRock, who said, “We don’t need Europe to solve all its problems in 2012. … Since there is already such a significant ‘crisis premium’ baked into the markets, just avoiding disaster could be enough.”
Western world powers have come together to propose a contingency plan in the event of a military escalation with Iran in the Persian Gulf. The plan is to tap a record amount of oil from emergency stockpiles if Iran were to block the Strait of Hormuz. Many experts have said this is a ploy on the part of Iran to drive up oil prices to avoid world economic sanctions being imposed upon Iran. The situation is being watched carefully by world powers. A European diplomat agreed to the assessment, saying, “This would form a necessary and sensible response to a closure of the strait.”
At 4:01 p.m. (CST), the APMEX precious metals spot prices were:
- Gold - $1,619.40 – Down $1.70.
- Silver - $28.78 – Down $0.60.