January 7, 2019 -- Precious metals turned in mostly strong performances last week. On Friday, gold gave up gains from earlier in the week to end slightly higher.

The white metals fared better. Silver managed to hold on to some, but not all, of its gains and end 2% higher. Platinum and palladium put on roughly 4% each with palladium shooting higher than gold on Friday.

Gold’s setback came when Friday’s monthly jobs report beat expectations by a huge margin. That news could have prompted more selling in metals than it did. Good economic news ordinarily ratchets up expectations about further tightening at the Fed.

However, any concerns along those lines were diffused with some dovish remarks by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. He indicated the central bank would be “flexible” when it comes to rate policy in 2019.

The previous consensus around 3-4 rate hikes in the months ahead has largely evaporated.

The action in equity markets will be the story to watch for metals investors this week. The battle between bulls and bears is getting fierce, driving volatility to extremes.



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