Precious metals have not done all that much moving through the first few hours of Monday. In general, the marketplace is fairly quiet and not emitting too much in the way of markets-moving data. On the whole, this week is already shaping up like it will be a quiet one as little to no economic data is due for release and the attention being paid to ongoing developments in Ukraine and the Middle East is waning as of the writing of this post. For now at least, gold is holding above the $1,300 threshold while silver is just a few pennies above $20/ounce. The real test will be to determine whether or not metals can hold their positions or perhaps even build upon them by the time this week is through.

Geopolitics Shift to the Back-Burner

If you can recall to last week, you probably most remember a market that was concerned primarily with the large number of developing geopolitical situations from around the world. With little economic data on the table, investors’ focus turned towards reports claiming that Russia had been building up a massive military presence along its Western border with Ukraine. A few days after these reports broke, a NATO reports confirmed that more than 20,000 combat-ready troops were stationed along the Russia-Ukraine border partaking in organized military exercises. Since last week, however, the military exercises have ceased and so too have investor worries regarding the situation.

Also developing throughout the middle parts of last week was a report claiming that US president Barack Obama had signed a decree sanctioning the use of airstrikes against Islamic rebels in Iraq. The reports went on to say that the airstrikes would be aimed at both protecting US military advisers as well as helping the countless number of besieged, stranded citizens. This news, as is the case whenever violence is making headlines, caused investors exhibit a bit more risk-averse attitude than what had shown through for a majority of the week. Now, on Monday, risk-aversion is nothing more than a memory as there have been few developments from Iraq over the weekend.

As we look ahead to the duration of this week, it is the expectation of many that things will remain quiet and subdued. As we approach the middle to end of August, the market is expected to only grow quieter as people will use the last few weeks of this month as a time to take vacation.