Precious metals ended the day just under even, but were trading significantly lower for a large portion of the trading session. In stark contrast to what things were like for most of last week, this 5-day trading session is shaping up to be quiet and subdued. Though there is still plenty of interest rate talk making rounds amongst investors, the reality is that most everyone is now on more or less the same page with regard to rate hikes.

In case you missed it, last week brought about the FOMC’s latest policy meeting and, as always, it was met with a wave of speculation on the part of investors. With the US economy on the up and up over the past year or so, there has been almost non-stop talk about if and when interest rates will be raised. Very few people expected the FOMC to make such a move at last week’s meeting, but almost everyone was hoping that they would provide some insight with regard to when rates would be raised and by how much. The Fed didn’t provide explicit answers to the market’s inquiries, but by meeting’s end most everyone was certain that rates will be raised sometime in 2015, likely before the initial projections of June or July. While there is no guaranteeing that such is the case, the actions of the market in the wake of the meeting has led me to believe that the market believes rates will be raised sooner rather than later.

Weak Housing Data Offers Metals Some Respite

On the whole, this week is not going to bring about anything in the way of major pieces of economic data. Today, however, saw a report on existing home sales in August be released in the afternoon. According to the report, August saw existing home sales decline for the first time in almost 6 months. This news ended up dealing US equities a blow and turned a day of gains for the US Dollar into slight losses.

For precious metals, the housing data brought spot values up from daily lows, but still only offered temporary relief for the spot values of gold and silver. Unless we are dealt some unexpected, markets-shifting news in the near future, it is likely that bearish conditions will continue. As we head into the middle parts of this week, I imagine that investors will continue to keep a close eye on equity and currency markets in the US and around the world.