The end of what has been a quiet week across the global marketplace is seeing gold and silver spot values continue to hang on to marginal gains. The upside swing metals have taken and are continuing to ride has lasted over the past two weeks and sees metals reaching their highest points in months. Despite a quiet atmosphere across most of the week, investors still found plenty of time to speculate over what little economic data did actually surface.
The only big news of the day revolves around the outcome of the EU’s two-day summit covering how they will respond to Russia’s involvement in Ukraine. The EU has given Russia three-day ultimatum that, if not responded to, will result in further sanctions against the Kremlin. The EU is calling upon pro-Russian rebels, which are alleged to be backed by the Putin-led Russian government, to return border posts, hostages, and order to many of the southeastern parts of the country. Russia has yet to respond to the EU’s ultimatum, but most are expecting them to not budge on their stance with regard to Ukraine, specifically places like Crimea and Donetsk. Though this is still a preliminary notion, some are expecting increased tensions to reverberate across Europe as a result of potential sanctions.
Quiet Week Leaves Investors With Little To Reflect Upon
Gold and silver spot values have edged higher for a second consecutive week, but only slightly. The reason for this almost negligible price movement can be directly linked to a lack of any fresh economic data. While the 1st quarter GDP report from the United States and a gold financing scheme in China were brought to the market’s attention, neither really had a noticeable impact on gold and solver spot values.
The civil war in Iraq is still ongoing, but has remained mostly out of the news this week. The only major news stemming from that situation revolves around the presence of US military advisers. These advisers landed in Baghdad earlier this week and while they are being welcomed by the government of Iraq, it is still unclear as to what exactly their involvement in the ongoing turmoil will be. As we head into next week, a large number of investors are expecting things to be just a little bit more active than they were this week. What’s more, it is also an expectation of the market that the violence in Iraq will again make headlines sometime soon.