Despite the USD continuing to rally throughout much of last week, precious metals had a steady close to the week as physical demand offset speculative short selling. The pattern of intra-day highs being made in Asia or Europe and then drifting lower in the U.S. for most of the week continues this morning as gold is now $10.00 off the high of $1,230.00 and silver is 25 cents off the high of $16.79.
When trading resumed yesterday our markets reacted with a move higher as the assassination of Vladimir Putin’s chief rival brought buyers to the table as any news regarding Russia appears to be bullish for precious metals. In addition, the Chinese Central Bank continued their stimulus policy by lowering their 1 year lending and deposit rates. Volume in gold and silver continues to be a bit disappointing as many market participant appear to be on the sidelines waiting for a signal to the next move in precious metals. While gold and silver have traded above and below their 10 and 100 day moving averages they have not settled above their 100 day average and have yet to trade above their 50 day average. A close in gold and silver below the 10 day average likely sees the market probe lower while a close above the 100 day average sets us on a course for a test of their 50 day moving average. Here are the current moving averages I follow.
| Metal | 10 Day | 50 Day | 100 Day |
| Gold | $1,208.05 | $1,231.55 | $1,215.90 |
| Silver | $ 16.47 | $ 16.83 | $ 16.65 |
| Platinum | $1,174.50 | $1,218.70 | $1,223.80 |
| Palladium | $ 796.75 | $ 790.20 | $ 787.80 |
A special thank you to my colleague Peter who did a great job writing the commentary as I continue my recovery from a second back surgery.
Roy Friedman has over 30 years of in-depth experience in all facets of precious metals.