1. Gold prices are sharply up and hit new all-time highs in early trading Monday. Prices are now within striking distance of $3,000.00 an ounce. Gold and silver markets are continuing to see safe-haven demand amid concerns about global economic growth. The rapid changes taking place in other government policies also has the marketplace nervous. April gold was last up $48.20 at $2,935.80. March silver prices were last up $0.242 at $32.685. Technically, April gold futures bulls have the strong overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are trending up on the daily bar chart. Bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at $3,000.00. March silver futures bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage amid a price uptrend in place on the daily bar chart. Silver bulls’ next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $34.00.
2. Once hailed as one of America’s most promising EV makers, a multi-billion-dollar green-tech giant now appears on the knife’s edge of bankruptcy. Nikola, a hydrogen class-8 truck manufacturer, is in talks about an upcoming bankruptcy. At one point, Nikola’s worth hit $30 billion and made it more valuable than Ford. But the brand’s image quickly crashed. Its rise was fueled by bold promises from founder Trevor Milton, who was later convicted of securities fraud in 2022 for misleading investors about the company’s zero-emissions technology. Nikola’s issues are part of a greater narrative: companies are struggling with the electric vehicle transition. Plenty of early electric adopters have faltered. Fisker declared bankruptcy in 2024, Lordstown Motors filed in 2023, and Canoo shuttered in 2025. Even major brands have struggled with the transition. Ford and Stellantis have consistently reported operating losses in their consumer electric fleet.
3. After outperforming most asset classes in 2024, Bitcoin now finds itself under pressure as heightened geopolitical instability sparks a rush for safe haven investments. Bitcoin has gained just over 3% year-to-date, trailing gold’s 9% jump. The precious metal reached a record high of $2,882 an ounce. Bitcoin is currently about 10% below its peak. While Bitcoin has been described as a store-of-value similar to gold because of the cryptocurrency’s in-built scarcity, its supply is capped at 21 million — the token has not lived up to the billing. Gold’s enduring appeal during times of economic turmoil has been amplified by recent developments such as the US-China trade war and the threat of tariffs. Contrastingly, Bitcoin has often moved in near lockstep with technology stocks. Still, Bitcoin advocates hope the token’s intrinsic qualities will see it behave more akin to a store-of-value in time.
4. On Wednesday, Consumer Price Index data showed inflation heated up in January and is running well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal, dampening hopes of lower interest rates. Ten-year Treasury yields, which mortgage rates closely track, initially jumped, and traders pushed back assumptions about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate-cutting timeline. At year-end, they were calling for two cuts in 2025, but they now see a single cut this year, and not until December.
5. Although the downward revisions may seem shocking to most Americans, the estimates released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia in December revealed troubling discrepancies in reported employment data across the United States. From March through June 2024, job growth estimates differed sharply in 27 states when compared to earlier figures provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics. The revised findings, based on more comprehensive employment data, show that 25 states posted lower-than-expected job changes, raising concerns over the accuracy of preliminary economic indicators and the pace of national employment recovery.
6. The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits decreased last week, suggesting the labor market remained stable early in February. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 213,000 for the week ended February 8, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled had forecasted 215,000 claims for the latest week.
7. Oil prices settled flat on Thursday, paring early losses of more than 1% as U.S. tariff announcements were delayed until at least April, feeding hope that the world could avoid a trade war that would pressure economies and energy demand. Brent crude futures settled at $75.02 a barrel, down 16 cents, or 0.21%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude finished down 8 cents, or 0.11%, at $71.29 a barrel.
8. EUR/USD extends its winning streak for the fourth trading session on Friday. The major currency pair posts a fresh fortnight high near the psychological resistance of 1.0500. The shared currency pair gains as demand for risk-perceived assets has increased due to multiple tailwinds. Market sentiment becomes favorable for risky assets as the imposition of reciprocal tariffs is unlikely to come into effect before April 1st.
9. The USD/JPY pair falls sharply to near 153.40 in Thursday’s North American session from its weekly high of 154.80, which it posed on Wednesday. The asset weakens as second-level safe-haven assets, such as the Japanese Yen and the Swiss Franc, perform strongly across the board.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said it’s appropriate to keep interest rates steady for “some time” while policymakers await further downward progress on inflation and analyze the economic effects of new government policies. “We have made good progress, but 2% inflation is not in sight just yet,” Hammack said Tuesday. “As long as the labor market remains healthy, I am looking for broad-based evidence that inflation is sustainably returning to 2% before adjusting policy further.” Hammack outlined two key factors supporting the need for a patient approach to monetary policy. She pointed to lingering upside risks to inflation, including the strength of consumer spending and the potential for last year’s rate cuts to stoke economic activity with a lag. She reiterated that policy is only modestly restrictive, adding the Fed “may be at or close to a neutral setting already.” A neutral stance is a level of rates that neither stimulates nor restrains economic activity. In a moderated discussion following her prepared remarks, Hammack said she doesn’t anticipate raising interest rates in 2025.
Inflation perked up more than anticipated in January, providing further incentive for the Federal Reserve to hold the line on interest rates. The consumer price index, a broad measure of costs in goods and services across the U.S. economy, accelerated a seasonally adjusted 0.5% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 3%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. They were higher than the respective Dow Jones estimates for 0.3% and 2.9%. The annual rate was 0.1 percentage point higher than in December. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the CPI rose 0.4% on the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 3.3%. That compared with respective estimates for 0.3% and 3.1%. The annual core rate also was up 0.1 percentage point from December. Markets tumbled following the news, with futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average sliding more than 400 points while bond yields scaled sharply higher.
30-year mortgage rates inched slightly lower this week during a volatile period for bond markets but remained close to 6.9%. The average 30-year mortgage rate fell two basis points to 6.87% this week through Wednesday, from 6.89% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac data. The average 15-year mortgage rate rose slightly to 6.09%, from 6.05%. The 6.87% level is the lowest seen so far in 2025, but mortgage rates have been stuck in an extremely narrow band after hitting a year-to-date high of 7.04% in mid-January.
Volatility should be expected to remain high as investors will be closely watching for hints on the upcoming monetary policy direction. Many investors have redoubled their efforts to ensure that their portfolios are sufficiently diversified in the hope that they will be able to withstand corrections in multiple market sectors. Many of these investors have included physical precious metals as part of their diversification plans, given their long history as a hedge against both inflation and during times of economic turmoil. Remember, the key to profitability through the ownership of physical precious metals is to own the physical product and hold it for the long term. Always remember that you should never overextend your ability to maintain ownership of your precious metals over the long run.
Trading Department – Precious Metals International Ltd.
Friday to Friday Close (New York Closing Prices)
| Feb. 7, 2025 | Feb. 14, 2025 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $2,864.38 | $2,887.07 | 22.69 | 0.79% |
| Silver | $32.05 | $32.41 | 0.36 | 1.12% |
| Platinum | $984.15 | $986.17 | 2.02 | 0.21% |
| Palladium | $973.10 | $989.68 | 16.58 | 1.70% |
| Dow | 44303.65 | 44545.46 | 241.81 | 0.55% |
Previous Year Comparisons
| Feb. 16, 2024 | Feb. 14, 2025 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $2,013.35 | $2,887.07 | 873.72 | 43.40% |
| Silver | $23.43 | $32.41 | 8.98 | 38.33% |
| Platinum | $910.03 | $986.17 | 76.14 | 8.37% |
| Palladium | $955.36 | $989.68 | 34.32 | 3.59% |
| Dow | 38621.26 | 44545.46 | 5924.20 | 15.34% |
Here are your Short-Term Support and Resistance Levels for the upcoming week.
| Gold | Silver | |
| Support | 2839/2792/2724 | 31.71/30.75/29.70 |
| Resistance | 2907/2954/3022 | 32.77/33.72/34.78 |
| Platinum | Palladiumn | |
| Support | 979/952/929 | 987/939/915 |
| Resistance | 1003/1029/1053 | 1012/1060/1085 |