Closing Gold & Silver Market Report

U.S. CREDIT RATING DOWNGRADES STILL POSSIBLE; GOLD CONTINUES RECORD TRADING

Yesterday’s successful passage in Washington of a measure to increase the federal debt limit hasn’t eliminated fears that the U.S. could see a downgrade of its coveted AAA credit rating. Although Moody's Investors Service has said that they won’t be lowering their AAA bond rating for the U.S. at this time, they did warn that a downgrade could occur in the future if lawmakers do not come up with ways to reduce the government debt, and the economy falters as a result. Fitch Ratings also kept their credit rating for the U.S. at AAA, while echoing Moody’s sentiments. Standard & Poor’s has yet to announce their decision on a ratings downgrade, which has resulted in a great deal of anxiety and speculation among investors.
Gold once again hit a record today, trading near $1,675 per ounce. With analysts indicating that the disappointing service sector data released today will likely motivate the Federal Reserve towards keeping balance sheets high and interest rates low, investors continue to look to gold as part of their portfolio. Leo Larkin, a metals equity analyst with Standard & Poor's, stated, “It's very hard to find an asset that investors are comfortable with for any length of time. There is an expectation that the government is trying to inflate its way out of the problem, and gold is functioning as the ultimate safe haven and currency.”
At 4:15 pm (CT), the APMEX precious metals spot prices were:
· Gold - $ 1,662.50 - Up $19.00
· Silver - $41.80 - Up $1.65
· Platinum - $1,784.80 - Down $8.70
· Palladium - $798.50 - Down $30.40