Gold Spot Price Open: $1,472

Gold Spot Price Close: $1,446

Change in Gold Spot Price:-$24

Silver Spot Price Open: $23.95

Silver Spot Price Close: $23.90

Change in Silver Spot Price:-$0.05

Gold fell a considerable amount on Friday while silver remained more or less stagnant, having only lost a few cents. When all was said and done gold lost about 24 dollars while silver dropped to the tune of roughly 5 cents.

As is the case more often than not, the reason for gold’s collapse can be directly tied to the US dollar doing well. In overnight and early morning hours on Friday the USD made a large run against about six other currencies. In addition to this, there are rumors circulating that the Federal Reserve’s Quantitative Easing program may be coming to an end sometime soon. Though there is no real evidence supporting this, it put pressure on precious metals nonetheless.

While the US dollar is surging, the Japanese Yen is hitting all-time lows which is causing the Japanese stock market to see ending numbers that haven’t been seen in years. Though the Yen’s rapid decline is concerning to some, record numbers in the stock market are quelling any fears that Japan is in a state of peril. The Bank of Japan will become concerned, however, if they continue to see a decline in the value of the Yen coupled with stock market numbers that are also declining. That seems unlikely as the situation in Japan as of late either sees the Yen fall and stock markets gain, or stock markets falling and the Yen gaining.

The treasury budget statement was released today in Chicago and as expected, it had little to no effect on the price of gold or silver. Investors are hoping that the USD will let up by the time next week rolls around, but with the constant devaluation of world currencies this seems unlikely.