13/05/2024: The Week Ahead in Gold & Silver Markets: 

As we navigate through another week in the financial markets, gold and silver investors are keenly eyeing a mix of economic indicators, central bank speeches, and geopolitical developments that could shape the precious metals landscape. Here’s a breakdown of the key events and their potential impact on gold and silver prices:

Monday, May 13th: FOMC Member Mester Speaks: 

The week kicks off with FOMC Member Loretta Mester speaking before the market opens on Monday.  Mester may offer insights into the FED’s future decisions on interest rates. 

Tuesday, May 14th: U.S. PPI Data and Powell Speaks: 

– U.S.: Producer Price Index figures are released on Tuesday, with the month-on-month data expected to show a slight uptick from the previous month’s figure. Analysts expect PPI to come in at 0.3% month-on-month and 2.2% year-on-year. 

Additionally, FED Chair, Powell, is set to speak on Tuesday afternoon. This will be closely watched by investors as Powell may provide hints towards the FED’s future monetary policy. 

Wednesday, May 15th: U.S. CPI & U.S. Retail Sales: 

– U.S. CPI: Following on from Tuesday’s PPI data, is Wednesday’s CPI data. This will provide investors with insights as to how quickly prices are rising. These figures are expected to come in at 0.4% month-on-month, and 3.4% year-on-year which is a slight reduction from the previous month’s figures.

Core CPI (excluding volatile food and energy prices) are expected to come in at 0.3% month-on-month, and 3.6% year-on-year. Again, this would be a slight reduction from the previous month’s figures and could support the move towards lowering interest rates. 

– U.S. Retail Sales: Retail sales are expected to come in at 0.4% for the month of April, which is down from the previous month’s figure of 0.7%. This data can often show consumer sentiment and provide investors with information on how the general public is spending. 

Thursday, May 16th: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims: 

Initial Jobless claims are expected to come in at 220,000 which would be a decrease on the previous week’s figure of 231,000. This provides investors with an insight into the labour market and is also an important indicator for the FED to follow when they are looking to make changes to monetary policy. 

Friday, May 17th: E.U. CPI: 

Like the FED’s inflation data which is to be released earlier in the week, analysts expect E.U. CPI to cool for the month of April. Expectations are that CPI will cool to 0.6% month-on-month. 

Core CPI (excluding volatile food and energy prices) is expected to fall to 0.7% which is down from the previous month’s figure of 1.1%. 

Conclusion:

Gold and silver prices could be influenced by the busy U.S. data releases and FED speak throughout the week. Dovish commentary from FED officials may spark a rise in both gold and silver markets as investors hopes for a rate cut will increase. 

Stay tuned for our next update as we continue to monitor these developments and their impact on the gold and silver markets.