May 2024 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran & Everett Millman

Editor’s Introductory Note: Steven Cochran is transitioning to a new job, writing for an investment company. Starting next month, this column will be authored entirely by Everett Millman, who is also employed by Gainesville Coins. — Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and examine the factors that affected gold prices. WHAT DID GOLD DO IN MAY? The gold price opened the month hovering around the $2,300 level, taking a breather after notching record-high prices in mid-April. Beginning in earnest …




March 2024 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, presented by Gainesville Coins. Each month we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. We cover gold’s performance and the factors that affected gold prices. What Did Gold Do in March? Boy, did anyone see this coming? I actually lost count of how many record highs gold hit this month. Gold futures and spot gold both started the month with new all-time highs. $2,095 an ounce for futures, $2,083 for spot. Futures ended the month $143 higher at $2,238 an ounce, and spot gold gained $150 after finishing …




February 2024 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, presented by Gainesville Coins. Each month, we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. We cover gold’s performance and the factors that affect gold prices. What Did Gold Do in February? Everything moved against gold in February. Hot inflation numbers and a stronger dollar pushed back the probable date for the Fed’s first rate cut. A huge tech bubble in stocks pulled money out of bonds and other safe havens to chase record stock prices. Spot gold started February at $2,054 an ounce and ended the month $20 …




January 2024 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, presented by Gainesville Coins. Each month, we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. We cover gold’s performance and the factors that affect gold prices. What Did Gold Do in January? Spot gold started the new year at around $2,060 an ounce. It dropped as low as $2,023 in the second week of the month as everyone rushed to dial back over-optimistic expectations of an interest rate cut in March. Prices recovered to above $2,050 on the 15th before the bottom fell out, recording a $49 drop from …




December 2023 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affected gold prices. What Did Gold Do in December? The big news for December was gold, setting two new record highs to make 2023 the best year for gold since 2020. The sharp rally that began in late November continued into December, setting new record intra-day and closing highs for gold on December 1st. February gold futures hit a new intra-day high of $2,095.70, closing at $2,089.70. Spot gold …




November 2023 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance, and the factors that affected gold prices. What Did Gold Do in November? Gold prices began November trending around $1,990 before falling to a monthly low of $1,938 on the 10th. Prices then began a strong rally to break above $2,000 by the 21st, then hit successive six-month highs as it broke above $2,050, considered the last major resistance point before hitting all-time highs. Closing gold prices for November peaked on the 28th, …




October 2023 in Precious Metals by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affect gold prices. What Did Gold Do in October? Gold gained $139 in October. Unfortunately, most of those gains were paid for in the blood of Israeli civilians. Gold hit a 7-month low of $1,831 on October 5th. It gained $58 on the 10th to break above the $1,900 mark to settle at $1,941. By the 19th, it was permanently above $1,980. Spot gold prices jumped more than $20 …




August 2023 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affect gold prices. What Did Gold Do in August? The triple whammy of higher bond yields, lower oil prices, and a surging dollar worked to depress gold prices in the middle of the month, causing spot gold to close under $1,900 from the 16th to the 22nd. An unexpectedly soft PMI report on the 23rd finally lifted the foot of bond yields off the neck of gold as the …




July, 2023 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affected gold prices. What Did Gold Do in July? We expected continued central bank policies of putting the inflation fight above the job market and preventing inflation would have put gold on the back foot, making traditionally weak summer gold demand worse. That isn’t exactly what happened. August gold futures started July at $1,929 an ounce, with spot prices starting at $1,919. Prices peaked on the 18th, with August …




June 2023 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affect gold prices. What Did Gold Do in June? Central banks, inflation, and diverging economies around the world magnified the usual summer weakness in gold for June. COMEX gold futures topped out early, hitting $1,995.50 on June 1st. Prices oscillated lower through the rest of the month, bottoming $78 lower at $1,917.90 on the 29th. Spot gold followed much the same trajectory in June, notching a monthly high of …




May 2023 in Precious Metals by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affected gold prices. What Did Gold Do in May? Gold had a rollercoaster ride again in May, but when all was said and done, it had lost less than 1%. Gold prices hit an intraday high of $2,085 in Europe on May 4th but opened in New York at $2,055. It settled at the same level, marking the closing high for the month in the US. Gold closed above …




April 2023 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance, and the factors that affected gold prices. What Did Gold Do in April? Gold hit triple-digit gains in March, which allowed April to start off strong. Gold futures gained $122 in March. Spot gold did even better, ending $143 higher. This put prices 7% higher for the month, and up 9% year to date. Gold futures started April by settling at $2,000 per troy ounce on the 3rd. It got a big boost …




March 2023 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affect gold prices. What Did Gold Do in March? Gold saw choppy trade all month as safe-haven demand whipsawed between easing inflation and a global banking crisis. Prices bottomed out at $1,813/oz on Wednesday, March 7th, but were $100 higher a week later on the 15th. That $1,913 mark was the low for the rest of the month. Futures hit an intraday high of $2,011 on the 20th, then …




February 2023 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance, and the factors that affected gold prices. What Did Gold Do in February? Gold gave back all of January’s gains in February in choppy trading, ending the month down about $10 for the year. Things started off badly on February 2nd, when the Fed, ECB, and Bank of England all hikes rates and announced that rates would be moving higher for longer than previously estimated. This sent gold down $34 to $1,916 an …




January 2023 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance, and the factors that affected gold prices. What Did Gold Do in January? Gold kicked the current rally into overdrive in January. Starting the year at $1,829 an ounce, spot gold closed at $1,923 an ounce on January 30th. It began the year hitting a six-month high near $1,850 early on January 3rd before easing, only to claim that level the next day. Prices marched higher during the second week in January, to …