Precious metals spot values are edging higher as of the writing of this post, fueled by physical buying in Asia after last week’s pullback. Though this buying is boosting spot values as of now, it is going to take much more than bargain-hunting buying to revert the current downward trend of metals. This week, on the whole, will prove to be fairly exciting simply because of the quantity of economic activity that will be taking place. The marquis event of the week will come over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday in the form of the most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

On the geopolitical front, a ceasefire agreement between pro-Russian forces and Ukrainian forces seems to be holding, now into its second week. This news is good for the people of war-ravaged Eastern Ukraine, but is not so good for those who have a lot invested in the precious metals market. As the overall marketplace turns increasingly bearish by the day, metals now have to cope with the fact that the situation in Ukraine–one that has provided fundamental bullish support for months now–is getting less tense by the day. It will be interesting to see where this situation heads in the coming days and weeks and, as such, we will continue to keep a close eye on matters.

Attention Shifts Towards FOMC Meeting

If you are at all accustomed to the global trading atmosphere, it should come as no surprise that the attention of the market will be shifting towards the Federal Open Market Committee. This time around, investors will be paying attention in order to confirm that Quantitative Easing will be done and dusted by the end of October as well as to seek out any and all information with regard to the future of interest rates in the US.

Though QE’s departure is more or less expected by the market, there are conflicting beliefs with regard to when and by how much interest rates will be raised. Just last week, a survey from the Federal Reserve bank of San Francisco indicated that investors might currently be underestimating just how quickly the Fed can raise rates.

In my opinion, this week’s meeting will more than likely not see much new information dealt regarding interest rates, but investors will be paying attention nonetheless. I am of the belief that members of the Fed will simply reiterate their confidence in the strength of the US economy as well as point out that there is still room for improvement ahead of any interest rate hikes. As a result of all this uncertainty, most investors are simply holding their positions until the conclusion of the Fed’s meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

The spot values of precious metals opened up what is shaping up to be a quiet Monday in less than impressive fashion. As of the writing of this post, both spot gold and silver are moving downward. If the last few weeks have taught us anything, it’s that the global marketplace is growing increasingly bearish and is flat-out less interested in the prospect of attaining precious metals as a hedge against inflation.

The situation in Ukraine, which has been providing fundamental, safe-haven support for precious metals for a majority of this year, has also been seen calming down in recent days. Over the weekend, it was reported that much of the gunfire taking place along the Eastern corridor of Ukraine has ceased and given way to humanitarian efforts and things of that nature. Though there is still fighting taking place, things are much less tense now than they were only a few weeks ago. of course, the situation is still volatile, and for that reason we will continue to keep a close eye on any and all developments.

Weak Asian Data Consumes the Market

Despite the fact that this week will more than likely end up being a fairly active one, the early parts of Monday have seen investors focusing pieces of data that usually get ignored.

During the overnight hours, a report from China indicated that the country’s trade surplus hit an all-time record high of near $50 billion during August. As you could have probably guessed, this surplus was far larger than anyone had guessed it would be. In addition to this, it was reported that China’s exports during August improved by more than 9% on an annualized basis, but their imports only jumped up a little more than 2%. This news acted as an underlying bearish factor for precious metals and other raw commodities seeing as China is the world’s largest commodity-importer.

In news from Japan, a report released during the overnight hours indicated that the Japanese economy contracted by more than 7% on an annualized basis during 2014′s second quarter. Though that is a massive contraction, no one is all that surprised considering the weak nature of the Japanese economy in recent years.

Another factor that was really hurting gold during the early morning hours of Monday was a stronger USD index. The greenback hit another 13-month high today and is only seeming to get stronger with each passing trading day. So long as the USD is as strong as it is now, any upward movements on the part of precious metals will be difficult to sustain.

Precious metals continued to trend downward on Monday, pressured by all-time highs reached by the S&P500 as well as a stronger US Dollar. Being that we are still in the month of August, it should come as no surprise that there really isn’t too much in the way of markets-moving economic data on the slate for this week. While there will be a few reports made public, no one is expecting them to have any major impact on the spot values of precious metals.

Apart from concentration on US equity markets today, investors continued to mull over and discuss what was said at last week’s central bankers meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Interest Rate Speculation Continues

If you have been paying any amount of attention to the global economic atmosphere over the course of the last few months or so, you are probably more than well aware of the fact that investors the world over want to know if and when the US Federal Reserve plans on raising interest rates. With each passing FOMC meeting and public appearance by Janet Yellen, the market perks up in order to hear anything they can about the future of interest rates. While much is known about when they will be raised and what factors will allow them to be, no one is entirely sure the date at which interest rates will be hiked in the US.

Last week, the investing world’s attention was drawn to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where a global central bankers meeting was taking place. At the meeting, both Janet Yellen and ECB president Mario Draghi made prepared speeches with regard to the future of monetary policy in their respective regions. During her remarks, Ms. Yellen made it clear that while the economy is definitely improving, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the labor sector. Regardless of this, investors perceived her comments as being more hawkish than anything else, and drew the conclusion that perhaps interest rate hikes may be coming sooner rather than later. What’s more, ECB president Mario Draghi stated that he is not ruling out further monetary policy measures.

Because of these two speeches, the value of the USD is moving upward today while the Euro is once again trending downward. Should the Fed raise interest rates at any time near a monetary policy change by the ECB, many people think that the Dollar could pick up even more value against the Euro. All of this, however, remains to be seen.

Precious metals traded downward for a majority of the day thanks to a much calmer and at-ease marketplace. The reason behind this more subdued investing atmosphere was the Russia-Ukraine peace talks held over the weekend. Other than that, there really wasn’t very much going on by the time markets opened today. There is a big central bank meeting being held in Wyoming later this week, but apart from that investors haven’t too much to look forward to this week from an economic data standpoint.

Talks of a Ceasefire Make Rounds…For Now

When last week was beginning to wrap up, news began circulating with regard to Ukrainian military forces engaging and destroying a large portion of a Russian armed military convoy. Though these reports were not initially confirmed by Russian media or any other party, it was enough to send a shock wave of concern across the global marketplace. Everyone’s fear throughout this whole situation was that Russia and Ukraine were destined to face off in combat, but up until last week that had not officially taken place. For this reason, most investors entered the weekend very unsure of what direction this situation was headed.

Fortunately for everyone, German, French, Russian, and Ukrainian officials met over the weekend to discuss a potential ceasefire agreement between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian military forces. Though no agreement was reached, the fact that Ukraine and Russia are willing to sit down and discuss matters is a step in the right direction. Though the fighting still rages in Eastern Ukraine, the market is much more content with the direction the situation is heading in, at least for now.

In other news, this quiet week will be capped off with the Kansas City Federal Reserve meeting, being held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This meeting of some of the world’s biggest and most important central bank leaders has, in the past, played host to many important speeches with regard to the future direction of worldwide monetary policies. This time around, because Janet Yellen and ECB president Mario Draghi are expected to speak, investors will be paying incredibly close attention. From Draghi, it will be interesting to see what he has to say about recently dismal EU economic data. From Yellen, investors are hoping to hear some sort of updated news with regard to if and when the Fed plans on raising interest rates in the United States. Though it is very likely that little to no new information will be found out, investors from around the world will be paying attention nonetheless.

Seeing as we are smack dab in the middle of August, the quiet and subdued marketplace we are currently witnessing is not at all unusual. By the time September rolls around, it is likely that the global marketplace will be abuzz with a good bit more activity and talking points.

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.

Precious metals opened up this first full trading week of August in unimpressive fashion as both gold and silver are trading downwards. Some worries with regard to one of Portugal’s biggest banks surfaced over the weekend, but the Portuguese government did well to resolve the situation before things got out of hand. After last week’s slew of economic data from the United States, it should come as no surprise that this week will be a good bit quieter. Still, trading and investing activity will be at all-time highs as investors continuously gauge what has proved to be an uncertain economic atmosphere going forward.

Banco Espirito Santo Worries Market, At Least Momentarily

This may be drawing upon your memory a bit, but a few weeks ago, the market was dealt a news story with regard to one of Portugal’s biggest banks being in some financial trouble. In the wake of the report, Portugal’s PM was quick to quell worries as he claimed that the issues being experienced by the bank were temporary and minor in nature.

Over this past weekend, however, it was reported that Banco Espirito Santo was on the receiving end of a bailout and is now under the control of the Portuguese government. While this is definitely a situation worth paying attention to, it is not one that caused the market to descend into a state of panic. Rather, investors have so far taken the news in stride and have not really skipped a beat as of the writing of this post. US equities are continuing to perform well and pile the pressure on gold and silver. While such is the case at present, there is no saying how the Banco Espirito Santo situation will play out over the forthcoming days and weeks. As is the case with any bailout, the market will naturally be on edge over the course of the next few days. This means that precious metals might have a slight chance of making gains should the investing atmosphere change dramatically from what it is like at present.

With the unfolding situation in Portugal combined with the large quantity of ongoing geopolitical events around the world, investors will have plenty to mull over and discuss this week. As it stands, however, there really isn’t much economic data to talk about, so investors will instead be closely monitoring the progress of United States equities.

Precious metals have not played part in too much price action today, but what little movement was recorded was mostly downward. With some growing risk-appetite amongst investors, it is no surprise that safe-haven precious metals are more readily being overlooked by investors. Despite today offering little in the way of important or markets-moving economic data, the next few days are expected to be fairly busy.

The violence in Israel and Ukraine is continuing today, but the marketplace is not nearly as on edge as it was last week and the week before it. While these events are slowly but surely making their way to the back-burner of the marketplace’s attention, it is clear that they will not be going away anytime soon.

Busy Week of US Economic Data

For investors from the United States, the last few months have been a constant battle to find out as much information as possible about the possibility of interest rates being raised within a year. Though it has not been confirmed that interest rates will soon be increased, that notion is growing by the day and has a multitude of investors convinced that the Fed is going to act sometime soon. For precious metals, raised interest rates would more than likely be adversarial due to the fact that higher interest rates translates into more interest in interest-paying assets, and not safe-haven gold and silver. While the Fed, not too long ago, was quoted as saying that current interest rates will remain intact for as long as necessary, many investors are interpreting the United States’ current economic progress as meaning that rates are soon to be raised.

It is this ongoing search for more information regarding interest rates that is driving the market to become so preoccupied with this week’s FOMC meeting, job’s data, and second-quarter GDP report. Beginning sometime tomorrow morning, the FOMC meeting will run until the afternoon on Wednesday, at which point Fed chairperson Janet Yellen will make her post-meeting address to members of the media. Also due out sometime Wednesday afternoon is the second-quarter GDP report for the United States.

Finally, rounding out the week is the latest US employment report for the month of July. After June’s figures bested expert predictions and dropped the unemployment rate by another tenth of a percentage point, most are expecting July’s figures to be just as upbeat. While it is unclear how the rest of this week will unfold for precious metals, we do know that there will be a lot of information for investors to mull over and discuss.

Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium spot values are conceding value steadily on a morning when things are much quieter around the global marketplace than usual. After last week’s massive gains made by most metals, it really comes as no surprise that a lack of risk aversion is pushing metals back down to where they were a week ago. Despite this 5-day session already shaping up to be a quiet one, investors are still paying close attention to what little economic data is making its way to the market.

Weak EU Data Persists, Risk Aversion Softens

Last week began in much the same fashion today has, slow and devoid of any noteworthy economic events for investors to pay attention to. Shortly thereafter, however, things began to gain momentum as a stream of weak European Union economic data manifested itself and sent reverberations around the investing world. Among these weak reports was one claiming that Portugal’s second-largest bank was in a bit of trouble financially. After it was reported that the bank’s parent company missed a scheduled debt payment, things began to spiral out of control as wider fears about the stability of the EU financial system as a whole surfaced and spread like wildfire. With the memory of Europe’s sovereign debt crisis still fresh in their heads, investors scrambled away from risk-laden assets and instead turned to the relative safety offered by precious metals, the US Dollar, and US treasuries.

When markets opened today, many were expecting to see much of the same risk-aversion dominate the trading atmosphere, but such was not the case. Instead, investors exhibited a calmer attitude and were seen taking on risk-assets much more readily than they were last Thursday and Friday. This less risk-averse attitude persisted even despite a report showing that EU industrial production fell by more than 1% from April to May. To be fair, the report went on to show that annualized industrial production in the EU was up by .5%.

As we head further into this week, investors and market analysts alike will continue to keep close eyes on bond yields across Europe and their potential influence on the market.

Janet Yellen Scheduled To Address Congress

The biggest piece of data for the week from a US standpoint is Janet Yellen’s scheduled addresses to Congress, expected to take place on both Tuesday and Wednesday. After last week’s FOMC minutes offered investors nothing in the way of insight into when the Fed plans on hiking interest rates in the US, all eyes will be on what she has to say to Congress regarding monetary policy in the US.

Apart from Ms. Yellen making her Congressional rounds, there really isn’t too much else on the slate for this week. Economic data in the US and abroad is light, and what little data is making its way to the public is expected to have a marginal impact on the precious metals market, at best. Still, with metals falling as much as they have already this morning, I expect that there is a lot of price movement going to happen over the course of the next 4.5 days or so.

Gold and silver spot values are continuing to decline in value after last Thursday’s jobs data came back much better than anticipated. Still, with many investors from the United States continuing to enjoy an extended weekend, the first day of this 5-day trading session is inordinately quiet. In fact, this entire trading week is shaping up to be quieter than normal due to a lack of any markets-moving economic data.

The market has almost completely ended its focus on the civil war in Iraq as it is more readily being labelled a regional issue rather than a headline-grabbing marketplace concern. Still, as the fighting and violence continues throughout much of the Middle East we will keep an eye on all that is happening. If things in Iraq continue to deteriorate there is no doubt that the market will once more begin to take notice.

Slow Start To A Slow Week

With little to no economic data on the slate for this week, it comes as no surprise that the trading atmosphere we witnessed today was far quieter than normal. Still, what few investors did make their way back to the marketplace ended up having delayed reactions to last week’s upbeat jobs figures. In case you missed it, the Labor Department’s report showed that more than 285,000 jobs were added to the US economy in June. Compared to market expectations for job growth to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 215,000, this data came as a huge surprise to investors both in the United States and around the world. Adding insult to injury from the perspective of gold and silver was the fact that this upbeat report on the US employment sector was enough to push the overall rate of unemployment down to 6.1%, the lowest such reading in more than 5 years.

Now, in the wake of last week’s jobs data, investors are beginning to once again discuss the possibility of raised interest rates sometime in the near future. This discussion alone has been enough to see the USD Index jump forward over the past few days. The surging USD Index is a major reason behind why gold and silver have been edging downwards since last Wednesday. With the FOMC’s latest minutes due out on Wednesday, investors are hoping to gain some insight into what the Fed thinks about the current economic atmosphere in the United States. With that being said, however, investors will more than likely walk away empty-handed on Wednesday as most people with real insight are not expecting this week’s minutes to be anything to write home about.

Gold and silver spot values picked up more ground today despite there being not very much for the market to talk about. Metals ended both the month and the second quarter of 2014 in impressive fashion and are looking like they will continue to edge higher as we head further into the week.

The violence in Iraq has not gotten particularly worse, but it is not easing up at all according to a number of sources. US military advisers are on the ground, but it is being reported that they are restricted from engaging in battle. As ISIS fans out and spreads itself across a wider range of cities and regions, it is becoming a bit more difficult for Iraqi security forces to engage the rebel fighters. As the fighting wears on and other nations join in, it is likely that the situation will deteriorate before it gets any better.

Sub-Par EU Data Ahead of This Week’s Meeting

Despite there not being all that much economic data on today’s slate, the European Union played host to the only noteworthy report. The EU’s annual inflation numbers from May to June came in about in line with market expectations, but below the European Central Bank’s target annual inflation rate. For yet another month, it was reported that inflation stayed in the range of .5% and did not do much in the way of moving. Much to the dismay of many, this .5% inflation reading is still far short of the desired 2% inflation.

With the European Central Bank scheduled to hold their July monthly policy meeting on July, it will be interesting to see if they comment on the recently sub-par economic data from the region. Also happening on Thursday, as a result of markets being closed in the US on Friday due to the observance of the Independence Day holiday, is the release of the latest US employment report for June. It will be interesting to see how this week’s employment report affects the current progress of the precious metals market.