THE MARKET RECOVERS ON U.S. ECONOMIC DATA
June 16, 2011U.S. stocks, gold, and silver recovered today after yesterday’s 100+ point drop in the Dow.  Better than estimated housing starts and jobless claims have been given credit for the recovery.  The continuing saga out of Greece injected enough uncertainty, as it has been for some time, to keep the recovery in check.  Jonathan Corpina, head of NYSE floor operations for Meridian Equity Partners, put it eloquently by saying, “" The big headline is Greece, and it's going to continue to be Greece until there is some clarity or conviction that comes out of there.”
Rising inflation in China and India is expected to slow down the private investment demand for gold and silver.  On Thursday, June 16, the Reserve Bank of India raised its benchmark rates by 25 basis points to 7.50%.  As with any country, when inflation threatens, individual consumers of precious metals have to rethink their investment strategy.  India’s food price index for June has risen 8.96% while China’s inflation rate of 5.5% was the highest for that country since this time in 2008.  Rising food prices, a higher cost of living, and decreased savings are putting a damper on that country’s individual demand for gold.
At 4:15 pm (CT) the APMEX precious metals spot prices were:
- Gold - $1,530.50 (up $3.80)
- Silver - $35.64 (up $0.15)