Precious Metals

It was a great day for all the precious metals Friday as gold, silver, and platinum all made significant gains. Gold was relatively flat for most of the session, but shot upwards towards the end of NYMEX trading. Prices closed at $868.70/oz., up $21.70. For the week, gold gained 3.7%.

Silver followed a very similar trading pattern to gold, seeing little change until late in the NYMEX session, when it rose rapidly. Silver gained $0.37 on the day, to finish at $10.67/0z. Silver lost 1.5% on the week.

Platinum posted solid gains in Far East trading and never looked back, rising throughout most of the day to end at $891/0z., up $36. For the week, platinum went up 4.5%.
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The strength of the precious metals was predicated on rising tensions in the Middle East and South Asia, leading investors to seek gold as a safe haven. Palestinian militants launched fresh rocket attacks on Jewish settlements, while Pakistani troops have been moved to the Indian border.

“The only possible explanation for gold’s gains are the geopolitical tension in Gaza and in India and Pakistan,” wrote Leonard Kaplan of Prospector Asset Management.

Others agree. Ralph Preston of Heritage West Financial said that “Not since 1967 is it so obvious there is going to be a war in the Middle East that will send gold and oil well past this year’s highs.”

Whether or not this is actually the case is up for debate, but the possibility of conflict was enough to move the markets.

Some investors sought gold for other reasons. During a time in which even safe investment like Treasuries are yielding negative returns, gold has yielded a positive return on investment.

“Gold may be a good place because it is competing against zero rate of return,” stated Ron Goodis of Equidex Brokerage Group Inc. in Closter, New Jersey. “When most else is unsafe, or yielding virtually nothing, at least gold has some historical significance.”