Gold and silver spot values are conceding some value as of the writing of this post early Friday morning. This whole week, and much of last week, saw precious metals add value consistently thanks to a number of different factors, but most notably due to a faltering US Dollar. After rallying through the early parts of March, the last few weeks have seen the greenback concede value on a fairly consistent basis. Still, the Dollar is in good standing and is poised to make even more gains against many of its rivals, including the Euro.
On the whole, these last 4 and a half days have been mostly quiet from an economic data standpoint. Of course, with the weekly jobless claims report due out on Thursday, yesterday offered a bit of an exception to the quiet nature of this week. According to the Labor Department’s report, jobless claims in the US came back at just over 280,000, down from a reading of more than 290,000 claims a week ago. This did not do precious metals any favors, but also didn’t do much in the way of stealing momentum. All in all, the labor situation in the US is still developing and is hard to gauge at this particular juncture. As we head further into this year, however, each and every employment report from the US will be increasingly heavily weighted by investors who want to know when interest rates will be raised and how much they will be raised by.
Fighting In Yemen Intensifies
For the better part of the past few years, there has been a civil war raging between the Yemeni government and a few different rebel groups. In recent weeks, the fighting has really intensified, so much so that Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that they would be carrying out airstrikes against rebel forces.
Though Saudi Arabia involving itself in this regional conflict is seen by many as a good thing, the fact of the matter is that the Saudis might be making the Middle East even more unstable. The reason I say this is due to the fact that the rebel positions being struck by the Saudi air force are operated by the same rebels that are currently receiving support from Iran. With the two biggest Middle Eastern powers indirectly fighting one another, it is fairly easy to see why investors have grown concerned with what is going on in Yemen. So far, Saudi involvement in Yemen has not received much of a response from Iran, though that can change at any time. Because of this, the investing world will undoubtedly be keeping a close eye on this region as the civil war in Yemen and all associated developments creep back into the headlines.
GDP Forecast Upgraded
Despite this week not playing host to too much in the way of economic data, today offered a bit of an exception in the form of 4th quarter GDP estimates on the part of the US Commerce Department. Compared to earlier forecasts for 4th quarter growth to be somewhere in the 2.2% range, the newly revised forecasts sees the Commerce Department expecting fourth quarter growth to be around 2.5%.
For many, the lackluster performance on the part of the US economy so far this year makes it hard to believe that this year will see overly upbeat GDP growth. Still, it is quite early and there is no way of knowing how the economy will perform over the next 9 months or so. For now, however, the market is gearing up for the plethora of month-end and quarter-end economic data that will be made public next week and into the following week.