Dillon Gage is proud to offer the following insights into the precious metals market from Roy Friedman. Roy has over 30 years of in-depth experience in all facets of precious metals. We offer Roy’s comments several times each week.
Precious metals opened lower yesterday, as short term traders looked to lock in profits when trading opened in Asia Pacific. With Hong Kong closed for a holiday,
physical demand in the region was very light and a stronger USD added pressure. Weak global economic data continued as the new month began with China releasing their PMI figure for June, which fell by .20 percent and in Japan their manufacturing index fell by 3.10 percent. This kind of data will only bring renewed talk of central banks needing to stimulate the global economy, which will keep rates low and support precious metals. A quiet European morning brings us to the U.S. market, which has opened lower and is trading on light volume as many market participants begin the summer season by taking this week off. While this week could turn out to be quiet, there is potential for another wild Friday as the trading week will conclude with U.S. employment data being released Friday morning at 8:30 AM EST.
As we look forward to the second half of the year, I continue to be optimistic for prices moving higher. Physical demand typically picks up in the second half and the highs for the year have been made in the fourth quarter of the year for the last 4 years. Evidence of a pick up in demand can be seen by sales of gold coins by the U.S. Mint, which reported June sales totaled 82,500 ounces which was an increase of 16 percent from Mays total of 71,000 ounces.
Roy Friedman has a degree in economics and political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton. For more than 30 years, he has worked at all levels of he industry including as a trader for major Metals firms and international banks. For more information on Mr. Friedman, please click here.
