Global Precious MMI: Gold, silver prices surge then retrace

The Global Precious Monthly Metals Index (MMI) surged 9% for this month’s MMI value.

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Surging gold price

The gold price recently soared to an all-time high.
The gold price is inversely correlated with the U.S. dollar. As such, it is worth noting the U.S. dollar recently fell to a two-year low.
The U.S. dollar fell to 93.23 as of Thursday afternoon.

Silver rises but could be headed for short-term weakness

Meanwhile, the silver price has also been on the rise longer term.
MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns has kept a close eye on the resurgent silver market in recent months.
“Early this year, the silver market was going through a tough time,” Burns wrote last month.
“Its reaction to the growing pandemic was in stark contrast to that of gold. The disconnect between the two metals rose to historic proportions, as gold rose on the back of deeply negative real interest rates and expectations, justified or otherwise, of rising inflation as a result of massive fiscal stimulus.”
Burns added the silver price could still have a ways to go.
“Silver’s case, apart from it underperforming its historic average, is the potential for it to be boosted by: the growing Chinese recovery driving demand for industrial consumption (particularly electronics and plating), its attractions as a safe-haven investment and supply constraints due to COVID-19 mining-related disruptions in Central and South America,” he added.
“One arbitrage doing the rounds these last few months was to sell gold and buy silver, largely on the historic disconnect between the two prices as gold soared and silver collapsed. But with economic activity improving and supply-side concerns not going away, silver’s continued rise has better prospects, regardless of the trajectory for gold or the fact the historic connection between the two has partially recovered.”

Silver slowdown?

However, the silver price could take a bit of a breather from its upward ascent.
In a followup post Wednesday, Burns explained why silver’s rise has slowed.

“Silver’s rise has been so dramatic over the last 30 days; a pullback is to be expected,” he wrote.

“In fact, silver bulls are said to be looking for short corrections to create more value to add to positions.

“Both gold and silver retrenched yesterday. Gold fell below $2,000/ounce, while silver dropped toward $27/ounce.

“But whether that will be enough to dampen spirits for a push higher in coming weeks will depend on the course of the dollar, indications on post-pandemic recovery and further action by the Fed regarding longer for lower interest rates.”

Palladium, platinum make gains

Gold and silver have made significant gains since the start of the pandemic: what about the rest of the precious metals complex?
Powered in part by recovering automotive sales, both platinum and palladium showed some life.
Palladium, for example, trended largely sideways from March through June. However, over July, the palladium bar price jumped over 5%.
It remains to be seen if the automotive market will continue in its recovery. As noted in the Automotive MMI report earlier this month, July automotive sales in the U.S. saw the recovery take a bit of a pause.
Automotive sales in China, meanwhile, have proved more consistently resilient.
According to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) data released July 13, June sales rose 11.6% year over year. The July sales figure marked the third consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains in China.
The three-month positive streak followed a March year-over-year decline of 43.3%.

Actual metals prices and trends

The U.S. silver price gained 34.5% month over month to $24.47/oz as of Aug. 1.
The U.S. platinum bar price gained 9.9% to $900/oz. Meanwhile, the palladium bar price jumped 5.3% to $1,973/oz.
The U.S. gold bullion price gained 11.0% to $1,976.10/oz. The Chinese gold bullion price jumped 8.5% to $61.39/gram.
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