Precious metals finished the week having lost some decent value, mostly thanks to some stronger employment data from the United States. On the whole, this week has been quiet, but the last few days have played host to some economic data that has caught the attention of investors. Additionally, the price action of crude oil has caught the attention of the marketplace as it has been on the rise recently.
In news from Europe, it was reported today that the presidents of Germany and France will be meeting with Vladimir Putin in order to discuss the ongoing violence in Ukraine. In recent weeks, the fighting in Eastern Europe has intensified as a result of some ceasefire agreements falling through. As we move forward, increased attention will be placed on the fighting happening in Ukraine.
US Employment Report Beats Expectations
The biggest data point of the week came this morning in the form of the most recent employment report for January for the United States. Every US employment report is important, but Janaury’s is of particular importance simply due to the fact that it sets the tone for the year.
Prior to today, most market experts were anticipating that non-farm payrolls increased by 235,000 during January. When the data was made public, however, it was reported that almost 260,000 non-farm payrolls were added to the economy. This news instantly gave US stock markets a considerable boost while simultaneously put pressure on gold and silver. This is a major part of the reason behind why gold and silver will be ending the week having posted pretty hefty losses. Hopefully, with some luck, next week will see spot values bounce back because this is now the second consecutive week worth of losses.
In addition to all of this, it was also reported today that the European Central Bank was not willing to negotiate with Greece over debt payments. With Greece increasingly unable to pay debts and debtors demanding their money, something will have to give in the coming weeks. For Greece, however, the situation looks quite dire.