Gold and silver spot values have paused after yesterday’s gains, but are still hanging on to their lofty positions. This week was particularly quiet, but through that quiet market atmosphere gold, silver, and other precious metals were able to add a lot of value. While palladium and platinum have cooled off towards the end of the week, they too had a solid 5-day trading session yet again.

The focus of the marketplace, as we look ahead to next week, will undoubtedly be on the violence surrounding the Middle East as well as worries with regard to the European Union’s economy.

EU Fears Still Abound, Fueling Risk Aversion

Yesterday saw most major US and European stock indexes sell off at a rapid rate due to some sub-par economic data from Europe and China. In Europe, it was reported that housing sales have fallen steadily through the first quarter of this year, while industrial production in Italy is doing far worse than many were expecting.

On top of it all, Portugal’s second-largest bank’s parent company missed a recent loan payment, sparking concerns with regard to the financial stability of the Iberian nation. Despite yesterday’s concerns being far less severe on Friday, most people are still keeping a close eye on bond yields. While those yields have fallen back to somewhat decent levels today, there is no saying what direction they will head through next week.

As a result of yesterday’s overriding concerns, the precious metals market, US treasuries, and the US Dollar were all given a healthy boost. The greenback is still performing well today and is up by more than .1%.

US Equity Rally May Finally Be Finished

For most of this year up to this point, US equity markets have been on an absolute tear, adding immense amounts of value and ceaselessly trending upwards. The past two weeks, however, have played host to a US equity market that looks a good bit different than what we have grown accustomed to.

Now, an increasing number of investors have become convinced that the bullish stock market run of the past few months might finally be finished. Of course, more than a week’s worth of downtrodden trading activity is needed to make such an assumption, but with things looking the way they do now, many people are shying away from US equities and instead turning to safe-haven assets like gold and silver.