Gold prices took a breather on Christmas Eve after rising above the psychologically-crucial level of $4,500 per ounce.
After hitting a number of records in recent weeks, silver prices fell a little on Wednesday. Prices breached the $72.7055 mark for the very first time earlier in the day.
Oil prices also fell after spending most of the day on the positive side. The prices are set to experience their biggest annual drop since 2020.
Prices of gold and silver are on the decline
Gold prices fell slightly Wednesday after hitting an important session high of $4,500 per ounce.
Silver and platinum also retreated, reducing some of their gains made during the recent rally that broke records.
The COMEX Gold contract is currently trading at $4,497.35 an ounce. This represents a 0.2% decline, while the silver price remains largely the same at $71.188 per ounce.
Prices of palladium fell by more than 8 percent to $1,787.50 per ounce.
Jim Wyckoff is a Kitco Metals senior analyst and he says that gold has been experiencing a mild amount of profit taking after its recent record-breaking highs.
Gold has historically performed well during low interest rate periods and times of uncertainty in the market.
Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US president would like to see interest rates reduced by the Federal Reserve Chair, if markets were performing well.
US central banks have already reduced rates on three occasions this year. Traders are now anticipating that there will be two more rate reductions in the coming year.
Wyckoff was added to the list
By the end of this year, the next target is for the gold price to reach $4.600/oz. The silver market will be at $75/oz. Technicals are bullish.
The silver price has outperformed the gold prices so far in this year.
Silver’s gains are more than twice as large, with a 147% increase year to date, thanks to strong fundamentals. This is more that double the rise of bullion which went up by over 70% in this same time period.
Oil prices slip
The oil prices rose throughout Wednesday’s session before falling again.
The strong US economy and the ongoing concern about possible supply disruptions by Venezuela and Russia fueled this upward trend.
The oil price is still on its way to the steepest decline in annual prices since 2020, despite this recent increase.
Brent crude oil is currently at $62.22 per barrel. This represents a 0.2% decrease in price.
Both contracts have seen gains in the region of 6% since December 16 when they dropped to a level that was almost five years low.
According to US data the US economy experienced its highest growth rate in over two years in the third quarter. This was primarily due to strong consumer spending, and an impressive recovery of exports.
Brent crude and WTI oil prices will record the steepest drops in annual price since 2020, when COVID-19 had a significant impact on demand. Expected declines are around 16% and 18.5%, respectively.
The main reason for this downturn is that forecasts indicate the supply of goods will be greater than demand in 2013.
The movement of vessels carrying Venezuelan crude oil is halted. Over a dozen ships are waiting for new orders following the seizure by the US of the supertanker Skipper, and two other vessels being targeted this weekend.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is expecting oil flows from Kazakhstan to drop by one third in December to their lowest levels since October 2024.
According to market sources, this decrease is due to a drone attack by Ukraine that caused damage at CPC’s main terminal.
Last week, the US crude oil inventory increased by 2.39 million barges.
According to market sources, citing the American Petroleum Institute’s figures for Tuesday, gasoline stocks increased by 1,09 million barrels and distillate stockpiles by 685, 000 barrels.
The post Commodity Wrap: Gold, Silver Prices Ease on Christmas Eve; Oil Heads for Steepest Drop Since 2020 may be updated as new information unfolds
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