Gold

At noon today, the world witnessed the peaceful transfer of power, the passing of the baton from one administration to the next. Just as it has been done for over 200 years, beginning with our first president George Washington, today’s presidential inauguration confirmed the wisdom of our founding fathers.

On the day after tomorrow, all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the presidential inauguration will be over. All of the balls, celebrations, and parties for the most part will have concluded, and Americans will awaken to the beginning of a new chapter in our history.

Drawn from data collected on or before January 9, the Federal Reserve today released its latest economic report vis-à-vis the Central Banks Beige Book. Based upon data collected from the Fed’s 12 districts, the US economy is growing modestly with a tightening of the jobs market.

The countdown continues, as now only three days remain until Donald Trump becomes the 45^th President of the United States. Although there continues to be many uncertainties as to what this new administration will accomplish, Trump’s “hands on” leadership style is beginning to emerge. We are witnessing his unique methodology even before he takes the oath of office.

Come Senators, Congressmen, please heed the call. Don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the hall. For he that gets hurt, will be he who has stalled. For the times they are a Changin”  ~ Bob Dylan

In his first press conference as President-elect, Donald Trump’s words shook up the financial markets. Traders and investors witnessed strong gyrations and strong swings in the US equities markets, the US dollar, and safe haven assets like gold.

Today, for the first time since July, President-elect Donald Trump held a news conference. This was his first news conference since being elected President of the United States. Although some concerns and questions were not answered to the extent that many had hoped for, today’s press conference certainly set the tone that one can expect once Trump takes office on January 20.

Gold prices traded modestly higher today, trading to a six-week high. This occurred after gold prices plunged from the highs of 2016 when gold traded to 1380 per ounce. The high reached last year was the pinnacle of a multi-month move, which began near the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016.

In active trading, gold futures closed higher today at 1183.80 as of 3:15 EST, up approximately $10.50, a net change of almost 9/10 of a percent. Although there was no new fresh fundamental news, a multitude of factors were cited as primary reasons that gold moved higher in trading today.

US Dollar Weakens and Increased Investor Demand, Including Chinese New Year

The release of December jobs data today revealed that the US labor market is robust and continues to display strength. The December jobs report indicated very respectable gains, with US payrolls adding 156,000 jobs to their balance sheets. This number came in just under a Bloomberg survey of economists which called for the creation of 175,000 new jobs.