Enough uncertainty persists in the worldto boost gold prices in the short term, says Phil Flynn, senior marketanalyst with at Price Futures Group. The metal rose sharply early in the weekbefore falling back. “We’re probably at the lower end of the recent whipsawingtrading range,” Flynn says. “Because of the uncertainties surrounding Syria andthe possibility of sanctions by Russia on U.S. goods, the tensions are runninghigh. That will help gold next week.” The one factor holding gold back some, headds, is the expectation for more rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
By Allen Sykoraof Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
Friday April 13, 2018 8:52
BMO says mine-supplygrowth will be a “headwind” for silver prices this year but recoveringindustrial demand will help the metal in the longer term. Analysts cite datafrom the Silver Institute showing that industrial demand for silver rose 3.8%year-on-year in 2017 on the back of stronger photovoltaic demand. At 599million ounces, this was the first rise in industrial demand since 2013, aidedby an 18.6% jump in photovoltaic demand to 94.1 million ounces. Meanwhile,global demand from silver jewelry rose 2% last year to 209.1 million ounces,although demand for silver coins and bars dropped 27% to 151.1 million. “Weview a recovery in industrial demand as a key positive for the silver marketover the coming years, helping to lower the gold-silver ratio,” BMO says. “However,for 2018, we do see decent growth in mine supply as a headwind.”
By Allen Sykoraof Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
Friday April 13, 2018 8:52
An adequatesupply of palladium appears to be holding back palladium prices sinceautomotive sales are strong, which should underpin demand for the metal forcatalytic converters, says Commerzbank. “Following the U.S. lead, the Chinese automarket has now been reported to have picked up significantly again in March,”the bank says. Analysts cite data from the China Association of AutomobileManufacturers showing that 2.17 million cars were sold, which was up 3.5%year-on-year. However, palladium prices have not been able to profit from therobust auto markets in the U.S. and China, Commerzbank says. “On the contrary,of the commodities we analyze, palladium is one of the weakest so far in 2018,down 9% since the start of the year,” the bank says. “In our opinion, this ispartly due to the global palladium market probably being significantly bettersupplied this year.”
By Allen SykoraFor Kitco News
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