1. A catastrophic computer failure has unfortunately made it necessary to keep this week’s memo brief as we work to repair the issue. Below is a short synopsis of news events and the Friday- to-Friday closing prices for this week.
2. Brexit was the primary focus of most major news outlets this week as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May fought desperately to get the deal her government negotiated with the EU passed through parliament.
3. The seasonally adjusted number of Americans filing initial claims for state unemployment jumped by 6,000 claims to a new level of 229,000 for the week ending March 9. The previous week’s level was unrevised. The four-week moving average of claims dropped by 2,500 claims to a new level of 223,750. The previous week’s moving average was also unrevised.
4. The U.S. ambassador to Germany wrote a letter to Germany’s economics minister urging them to ban Huawei, or any other China-based third parties, from providing 5G infrastructure for the country. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ambassador Richard Grenell urged berlin not to allow the 5G technology into the country and saying that, if it did allow it, there could be a sharp drop in the Intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Germany. A ministry spokesman told CNBC, according to a translation of his comments, that “A direct exclusion of a particular 5G manufacturer is currently not legally possible and not planned. The focus is on adapting the necessary security requirements so that the security of these networks will be guaranteed even if there are potentially untrustworthy manufacturers on the market.”
5. The U.S. State Department has issued warnings for all U.S. citizens to leave Venezuela as unrest continues to grow there. American Airlines also suspended all service into or out of the country, citing the growing safety risk.
6. The US State Department issued new sanctions on Russia this week, including 6 individuals and 8 more entities. At least one individual in Russia has now filed suit against the State Department, claiming the sanctions against him are costing him business inside his own country in addition to internationally.
We apologize for the brevity of this week’s memo as we fight to recover from a serious computer outage. Next week the news to watch will be whether the Federal Reserve acts to raise interest rates after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting to set monetary policy.
Remember that precious metals should always be viewed as a long-term investment and that the key to profitability through the ownership of physical precious metals is to actually acquire and own the physical products and to hold them for the long term. Always remember that you should never overextend your ability to maintain ownership of your precious metals over the long term.
Trading Department
Precious Metals International, Ltd.
Friday to Friday Close (New York Closing Prices)
| Mar. 8th2019 | Mar. 15th2019 | Net Change | |
| Gold | $1299.00 | $1303.10 | 4.10 + 0.32% |
| Silver | $15.34 | $15.33 | (0.01) – 0.07% |
| Platinum | $816.95 | $831.65 | 14.70 + 1.80% |
| Palladium | $1501.50 | $1558.50 | 57.00 + 3.80% |
| Dow Jones | 25450.24 | 25848.87 | 398.63 + 1.57% |
Previous year Comparisons
| Mar 16th2018 | Mar. 15th2019 | Net Change | |
| Gold | $1313.50 | $1303.10 | (10.50) – 0.79% |
| Silver | $16.29 | $15.33 | (0.96) – 5.89% |
| Platinum | $951.00 | $831.65 | (119.35) – 12.55% |
| Palladium | $997.00 | $1558.50 | 561.50 + 56.32% |
| Dow Jones | 24946.51 | 25848.87 | 902.36 + 3.62% |
Here are your Short Term Support and Resistance Levels for the upcoming week.
| Gold | Silver | |
| Support | 1280/1260/1240 | 15.20/15.00/14.80 |
| Resistance | 1300/1320/1360 | 15.50/15.75/16.00 |
| Platinum | Palladium | |
| Support | 810/790/768 | 1540/1500/1480 |
| Resistance | 840/880/900 | 1560/1580/1600 |