The following is a commentary from APMEXAPMEX Morning Gold & Silver Market Report -- 7/18/2011by Ryan Schwimmer July 18, 2011
GOLD BREACHES $1,600 AS OPTIMISM IN U.S. AND GREECE SUBSIDES
Gold breached the $1,600/oz. barrier earlier this morning amid fears of debt contagion in the eurozone and unsatisfying U.S. debt ceiling talks. Silver rose above $40/oz. for the first time since the large run in late April. An analyst at Forex.com explained, "Recently, gold has outpaced silver; however, with gold reaching a record ... we think that silver may play catch up." Gold's appeal as a safe haven and hedge against inflation are shining through in this time of global economic uncertainty.
Later this week, a summit of European Union leaders will be held in order to work on details for the second bailout of Greece. An informal advisor to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that leaders have waited too long for action. He said, "...I'm not optimistic. We've had solutions in the past, but we haven't grasped them. Now it's too late for some of those solutions to work anymore; the opportunity has been lost."
There was no major progress over the weekend on debt ceiling talks. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid did negotiate a plan that will keep Republicans from having to take the vote in favor of the plan. As a Republican, a vote for the plan is political poison, so they are trying to remove any hurdles they can. Obama's deadline for the debt ceiling being raised is this Friday, July 22.
At 8:07 am (CT) the
APMEX precious metals spot prices were:
Gold - $1,601.30 -- Up $10.20 on the day.
Silver - $40.42 -- Up $1.29.
Platinum - $1,772.90 -- Up $17.40.
Palladium - $795.30 -- Up $12.70.
Mid-Day Gold & Silver Market Report -- 7/18/2011by Stephanie Chandler July 18, 2011
GOLD RISES WHILE STOCKS DROP AMID CONTINUING DEBT FEARS
U.S. stocks have seen a sharp drop in morning trading, primarily caused by the ongoing fears investors have over the failure by U.S. policymakers to raise the debt limit, as well as the uncertainty that still surrounds the debt crisis in Europe. Those same fears helped gold futures to rise above last week's record high of $1,590.10/oz. to over $1,600/oz. so far today, as investors continue to look upon gold as a financial safe haven. The price of gold has risen over 7% in July.
Discussions on raising the U.S. debt limit continue to show a distinct lack of progress. This week, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and his Democratic counterpart Harry Reid plan to introduce legislation that would enable the President to raise the debt ceiling three times over the coming year in exchange for deep spending cuts over the next decade. At the same time, Republicans in Congress will be voting tomorrow on a similar bill that raises the debt ceiling and requires spending cuts, but also amends the Constitution with a balance budget amendment. Even if this bill passes through Congress, however, it is not expected to pass the Senate.
Although news of the U.S. debt ceiling has monopolized the headlines as of late, it does not take away from the continuing crisis in the Eurozone. Pimco's Neel Kashkari told CNBC today that a plan of "overwhelming force to let the markets know that once and for all you're putting out the fire" in Europe should be to let Greece, Portugal and Ireland default.
At 12:00 am (CT) the
APMEX precious metals spot prices were:
Gold - $1,605.20 -- Up $14.10 on the day.
Silver - $40.40 -- Up $1.27.
Platinum - $1,772.80 -- Up $17.30.
Palladium - $795.60 -- Up $12.90.
Closing Gold & Silver Market Report -- 7/18/201123:09 7/18/2011Timothy Oakes,
APMEX - Commentaries
DEBT CEILING CLOCK TICKING, BACK UP PLANS EMERGE
President Obama has threatened to veto a most recent proposal involving the U.S. debt limit ceiling as long as it includes balancing of budget is a requirement. With the August 2 deadline looming Congressional leaders are going to "...Stay in session every day, including Saturdays and Sundays, until Congress passes legislation that prevents the United States from defaulting on our obligations," according to Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader. Reid and Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, are working diligently to not default on the debt, while also working on a plan that could balance the budget.
The confluence of debt ceiling, balancing the budget and Eurozone debt crises has created a lot of strife. Today yet another credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings, has come out and warned the U.S. would be placed on "watch negative". According to Oliver Pursche, President of Gary Goldberg Financial Service in Suffern, New York, "There's a perfect storm happening on a global macroeconomic basis with no debt deal here and the ongoing issues in Europe, and the market is looking at all these things and is fairly anxious." Also recently chiming in on the subject is noted economist Dennis Gartman who recently stated in his Gartman Letter, "Europeans primarily are fearful about the future of their currency and are exiting positions there for Swiss francs and Gold...Were we a German lawyer, or doctor, or small business owners, we'd be buying Gold."
Gold rose to a record $1,607.90 an ounce, capping the longest rally in 31 years, as debt concerns in Europe and the U.S. boosted demand for the metal as a safe haven. Technical charts indicate that within the next few months, Gold should rise above $1,700 an ounce. Robert Lutts, chief investment officer of Cabot Money Management quoted, "A move to $2,000 in the next six to nine months is not that crazy in gold." Silver hit a two month high, soaring nearly 4 percent, of $40.70 and has ended up 2.5 percent to $40.27. In the past two weeks Silver has jumped more than 15 percent.
In these growing uncertain times, a nice safe haven gold investment choice, would easily be the world-renowned Pamp Suisse Gold Bar.
At 4:15 PM (CT) the
APMEX precious metals spot prices were:
Gold - $1,606.50 -- Up $15.40 on the day.
Silver - $40.62 -- Up $1.49.
Platinum - $1,776.90 -- Up $21.40.
Palladium - $798.40 -- Up $15.80.
Posted 07/18/2011 7:18 pm
