Gold prices pulled back today after experiencing the largest gains in 5 weeks the day before. The yellow bullion had highs of $1,770/oz and lows of $1,723/oz this week. Ultimately, it ends the week at the highest price since the end of February at $1,762/oz. Silver made huge gains on April 15th propelling it near levels of $26/oz. It ends the week 2.81% higher at $25.94/oz, the highest level in 3 weeks. Platinum had an up and down week going as low as $1,157/oz but luckily recovering to $1,199/oz. Overall, the metal demonstrated a 0.99% loss this week. Palladium, on the other hand, made some consistent gains this week. The metal went from $2,677/oz last week to $2,775/oz today representing a gain of 3.66%. Rhodium had a relatively stable week never straying too far from its current levels. The metal had lows of $28,100/oz and started off on a high of $28,700. Rhodium ends the week at $100/oz less than last week at $28,600/oz.
Gold was missing strong directional movement to determine its uptrend or downtrend. After higher-than-expected CPIs and PPIs were released as well as a weakening US dollar last week, the direction for the yellow bullion seemed to be up. On Thursday though, economic data was released which showed the US economy was well on track to meet its objectives. This gave the US dollar a well-needed boost and consequently, the US Treasury yields rebounded to previous levels. This news caused Gold to make its largest single-day gain in five weeks, although it was short-lived as a quick pullback followed the next day.
Gold Prices (3 MONTHS)
Source: Tradingview; Gold Futures COMEX
Silver followed the same price patterns as hold this week. Despite this, the gold/silver ratio is currently at 68.23 to 1 which shows that Silver is outperforming Gold as of late. Since the start of 2021, the ratio has been on a steady decline. Ratios started the year at around 80:1. The Green energy revolution is a massive driver in the growth of the white metal as scarcity will increase along with demand. Silver is a key metal in the use of solar cells which will be one of the main sources of renewable energy in the coming years.
Another factor that has been pulling precious metal prices down has been the releases of earning reports in the last week. More specifically, European markets scored record high earnings this season. For example, LVMH’s earnings surged this quarter which, along with other record earnings from European companies, caused a steady increase in European indexes this entire week. Despite this, inflation information released for Q1 has shown cause for concern as the CPI in 19 European countries rose to 0.9% inflation month-on-month and 1.3% year-on-year. The European Central Bank (ECB) is aiming to keep the inflation rates around 2% on the medium-term. This spike was expected, and the ECB warns that it is possible the inflation rates will exceed the target by the end of the year. This is a good environment for price increases in Gold.
