Closing Gold & Silver Market Report – 2/21/2013
February 21, 2013GOLD REMAINS LOW ON UNCERTAINTY FROM FED, EUROZONE
Gold continued to face difficult times as the U.S. dollar strengthened through the course of the day after the Federal Reserve officially commented about the future of further easing. St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard stated late Wednesday that the Fed may pull back the pace of current monetary programs rather than completely pulling the plug if the economy continues to show substantial growth. Jobless claims also reflected higher-than-expected numbers this morning, but investors may not trust the data completely. “I think it's a bit of a non-event. The short-term numbers are all over the place and we still have the lingering effects of Superstorm Sandy,” Marty Leclerc, chief investment officer at Barrack Yard Advisors, said.
The countries in the eurozone are still hopeful that they will be able to overcome the predicted recession, but negative data does not support their optimism. Thursday’s Flash Eurozone Services PMI, which measures the performance of economic activity, fell to 47.3 from 48.6 in February, not quite passing the 50 threshold that confirms growth. Germany is a key nation in Europe, as it is financially stable and, economists suggest, is keeping the eurozone out of a fiscal dilemma. “If it wasn't for Germany, these would be really dire readings. At least the German economy is still helping to keep the eurozone afloat in some respects,” Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said.
At 5:15 p.m. (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
- Gold, $1,577.50, Down $2.00.
- Silver, $28.70, Up $0.01.