Gold Spot Price Open: $1,249

Gold Spot Price Close: $1,252

Change in Gold Spot Price: +$3

Silver Spot Price Open: $18.26

Silver Spot Price Close: $18.23

Change in Silver Spot Price: -$0.03

As has been the case since Wednesday or so, gold and silver spent the day on Friday mostly spinning their wheels. When all was said and done, gold finished having added about 3 dollars while silver ended up falling by about 3 cents. Platinum and palladium concluded the day having gained, but neither metal moved forward by more than a few dollars.

Gold, Silver Held Thanks to Stronger USD

The USD Index got the week off to a slow start, but it did not take long for things to turn around. Thanks to a late week surge, the Dollar effectively held off precious metals from making any gains. While the Dollar’s rebound is worth noting, experts have not been pointing to one exact reason as to why the Dollar has bounced back. Despite this, the index is off a 3.5 month low recorded earlier in the week and seems to be gaining some momentum.

If next week’s economic data proves to be overly upbeat—as many are expecting it will—the greenback may be on the receiving end of even more support. For the time being, however, traders cashing in on short-term profits in the precious metals market is something that is pushing gold and silver spot values lower while simultaneously lending some support to the USD.

Dow Jones Set for First 2017 Monthly Loss

As most stock markets turned upward through the latter half of the week, the Dow Jones was moving mostly lower. In fact, this has been the story for much of March as the Dow has limped its way through the past 31 days. Now, the index is looking like it will post its first monthly loss since President Trump took office.

A major explanation for the Dow’s March woes is the fact that markets, across the board, have cooled off since their extended rally that took off as soon as Trump was sworn-in in January. Not helping the Dow’s correction lower was the failed healthcare repeal initiative that finally died last week. Perhaps things will turn around next week with the release of economic data, but for now investors can reflect on March being a tough one for the Dow.

Optimistic Outlook for Metals Next Week

Being that so many people are anticipating that next week will bring about a load of upbeat US economic data, you would think that gold and silver would be preparing for a tough go of things. While that may be so, a few experts are actually looking for precious metals to perform well through the first week of April trading.

Two polls—one involving Main Street and one involving Wall Street experts—are pointing towards gold and silver regaining some of their footing next week. According to Phil Flynn, market analyst for Price Futures Group, “My gut feeling is we’ve priced in some very strong numbers or expectations (for the non-farms payrolls data), so I think it’s likely we’ll see the dollar pull back a little bit and gold will rally, although not by a lot.”
Other experts say that while gold and silver may experience choppiness in the near-term, the medium and long-term prospects are looking up. We will see just how true this is as economic data is dealt next week.

Wrap-Up

Gold and silver may have not had the best of weeks, but with a lack of many fresh inputs this should not come as too much of a surprise. Investors are looking ahead to next week and the plethora of economic data that is set to be dealt. What this all means for precious metals, however remains to be seen. There is some optimism with regard to metals’ prospects, however whether that optimism is lived up to remains to be seen.