Gold and silver spot values ended the week significantly higher than where they started it thanks to a good injection of short-covering as well as safe-haven demand. Despite the first 3-4 days of this week being inordinately quiet, the last two have shaped up to be a bit more eventful. Violence in Iraq is on the rise as a rebel militant group is working to dismantle the relative stability of the country.

This week has provided the market with little to no economic data and, as such, has seen spot values more or less trade within a well-defined range. Next week, however, will be a bit more eventful and hopefully see investors focus their attention on the expected onslaught of economic data.

Violence In Iraq Only Grows Worse

Towards the end of last week, reports began streaming in with regard to violence in Iraq. The militant group ISIS has been seen taking over villages and towns throughout wide expanses of northern Iraq. ISIS is also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and has grown exponentially in Syria over the course of the past 3-4 years. The group was on the verge of collapse, but in an ingenious move they reached out to a load of other Islamic militant groups in an effort to combine their powers and create a much larger, more effective group.

Now, ISIS is seen overpowering the Iraqi military and threatening the wider stability of a country that has just recently brought itself out of an intense period of war. Because of the violence, crude oil prices and the value of safe-haven assets such as precious metals and US Treasury notes have been on the rise. In fact, metals, over the last few days, have made advances large enough to see them hit 3 week highs both of the last two trading days.

As we look ahead, investors are more readily protecting themselves and their assets in the lead up to what is looking like a very uncertain weekend. Next week is expected to bring about a good bit more economic and geopolitical data than what we witnessed this week, so it is likely that we will see a bit more price action by precious metals.