The week ended on December 8, ABC Bullion shown the trend of precious metal where, prices surged earlier in the week, with an escalation in tensions in the Middle East seeing gold at one point trading above USD $2,100 per troy ounce (oz). The market has since consolidated, with gold last trading just below USD $2,030oz, essentially unchanged week on week.
Silver has had a tougher week, falling by 5% in USD terms, last trading at USD $23.80oz, with the gold silver ratio (GSR) climbing to 85. Equity markets were relatively stable, with both the S&P 500 and the ASX 200 +1% over the past five trading days.
Overall commodity prices have been one factor impacting silver, with a basket of commodities falling by 4% in the last week alone, while oil has cratered, off by 9% and now back below USD $70 per barrel. Bond markets have continued their recent rally, with 10-year government bond yields in Australia and the United States falling by 0.22% and 0.15% respectively.
The gold market started this week on extremely strong footing, with news of a Houthi rebel attack on a US Warship in the Red Sea causing the precious metal to temporarily spike above USD $2,100oz, a new all-time high.
While gold has since given back those gains, it is so far on track to deliver another year of solid returns to investors, having rallied by 12% in USD terms in 2023.
The question is when Western investors will return to the gold market en-masse, with this segment of the market notoriously quiet in 2023, despite prices surging to all-time highs.
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