Gold and silver have started Tuesday on a positive note as Americans return to their offices after celebrating the Labor Day holiday yesterday. Labor Day, a holiday which marks the unofficial end to the summer season, was to thank for the quieter trading atmosphere which we witnessed on Monday.
Our attention remains locked on the ongoing situation in Syria which has calmed down but is still far from over. Now, with summer winding down, many are anticipating an increase in the amount of trading that they see go on on a daily basis. Family vacations are over which means people will be back to work in full force throughout September and moving forward into the final part of 2013.
Tensions Regarding Syria
At this point last week the world was gearing up for what they considered to be an imminent military strike by the US on Syria. In the early running of last week all major news outlets were alluding to the possibility of the US unleashing an attack as soon as the end of the week. As the days wore on tensions around the globe were high, something that helped boost the spot values of gold and silver significantly.
When Thursday came, however, the mood began to change as an attack by Western nations on Syria looked to be less and less likely. Not only did the UK Parliament shoot down a bill which would see the UK engage in war in Syria, president Obama of the US announced that he would seek the approval of Congress before he initiated any type of attack against Assad’s Syrian regime.
At this point in time, even though the American president seems to be itching to go to war with Syria, a majority of US citizens would like to see anything but war take place. Many Americans feel as though more war in the Middle East would only mean more lives lost, money wasted, and time wasted than what has already been done in that region over the course of the past decade. Because Obama is choosing to seek Congressional approval and the UK has backed out of a possible strike, the once surging spot values of gold and silver have calmed down. We will continue to monitor this situation as it seems new developments are likely going to take place sometime in the near future.
Other Important Pieces of News
Now that the Labor Day holiday has passed, it becomes time for the American investor to focus on the upcoming jobs report and a number of different pending stories.
On Friday, we will be greeted with the latest US jobs report, and what that report has to say will be taken very seriously by investors. If it is a good report, expect those who believe the Fed will wind down or do away with QE to be out in full force, and expect the opposite if it is a sub-par report.
Also happening this week are both the Bank of England’s and European Central Bank’s monthly policy meetings. These meetings help directly dictate what monetary policy in these two parts of the world will look like going forward. This is shaping up to be a busy week of trading and investing, and things are likely going to be shuffled around in the blink of an eye so it is crucial to stay on top of all the latest news stories.