Eric Sepanek
SBC Founder
Eric Sepanek is the founder of Scottsdale Bullion & Coin, established in 2011. With extensive experience in the precious metals industry, he is dedicated to educating Americans on the wealth preservation power of gold and silver.
The price of gold took a plunge this week, opening around $1,310 per ounce before losing much of that. Monday opened with gold posting losses against a rising dollar. Manufacturing data came back stronger than expected.
Gold slid 3.3% on Tuesday to touch below the $1,300 per ounce mark, near the low point immediately following the Brexit vote on June 23. The strength of the dollar and positive economic reports, combined with a risk-off attitude after some stabilization in the Deutsche Bank scenario, culminated to land gold around $1,270 per ounce Tuesday.
By Wednesday, a slew of economic data had been released that stoked the fire for raising interest rates soon. The conversation for raising rates took on a slightly stronger fervor, with a 60% chance the Fed would raise rates in December, according to officials.
Thursday’s gold prices reached a four-month low. Data was released that showed the number of Americans applying for unemployment fell to a four-decade low, along with strong employment reports. The news seems to be pointing to a more robust economy, which could signal the time for a rate hike. Gold selling was prominent in the market, though some analysts predict an uptick in the near future as bargain hunters enter.
A jobs report released Friday showed 156,000 new jobs added, less than the 175,000 expected. The jobless rate was reported to have risen to 5%. The gold market took a brief turn upwards before closing the week around $1,260 per ounce.