Author: 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 gold market was a volatile battlefield in December, with bulls and bears waging war around the $1,800 level. Rallies were routinely sold into, which bulls saw as a buying opportunity. Some of this selling, best seen in gold ETF outflows, was likely due to margin calls as stocks stumbled under the dual expectations of recession and stagflation as the …

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 started the month around $1,640 an ounce.  After dipping slightly to $1,630, prices powered $145 higher to the $1,775 area, leaving the $1,685 support level in the dust. Prices leaked lower in the third week of November, but held above the $1735 support line that signifies the floor gold must respect to signal a new short-term bull run. Prices …

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. This is an abbreviated Month in Precious Metals column, due to Hurricane Ian striking southwest Florida. Factors Affecting Gold This Month INFLATION Inflation indicators resumed their climb in September after some slightly encouraging signs that it might be topping out in August. Average inflation in the EU hit a record 10.0% this month, putting the ECB in a tough spot in its efforts to break the …

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 August? This was a rough month for gold, as central bank rate hikes sent the dollar to 20-year highs and US markets began to think that inflation has already peaked. The Bank of England raised interest rates by 50 bp as expected on August 4th, but its forecast of a 15-month recession starting by the end of the year AND 13% …

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? Gold had a worse than usual month in July. It started the month crashing by $42 from $1,807 per ounce to $1,765. As bad as that was, things got worse as the month went on, with spot gold closing at $1,696.40 on July 20th. The end of the month ended with a bang, thanks to the Fed. They raised interest …

What Did Gold Do in June? Gold prices don’t usually see much activity during the summer months, but there were lots of things pushing and pulling prices in different directions in June. in June. The largest moves happened in the middle of the month. June 13th was the Monday after a worse-than-expected CPI report, and it seemed like the world caught fire. The bottom fell out of the stock market, bond yields shot up and briefly inverted, and the dollar index jumped to over 105. Spot gold closed the day $53 lower. Gold prices inched higher in the following days, …

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? May was an extremely volatile month for most assets, and gold was no exception. Inflation fears and Fed reactions (or inaction) to fighting it dominated market sentiment, with investors fleeing stocks and bonds, but moving to cash instead of gold. Gold started the month by crashing by $48 to $1,863 an ounce. It would see five more extreme daily losses …

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 started April coming off its best quarter since the second quarter of 2020. In contrast, Wall St had a terrible start to the year, posting its worst quarter since the April 2020 COVID market crash. The 2-year / 10-year bond curve briefly inverting several times the first week of April kept gold bouncing between $1,925 and $1,945 an ounce. …

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 March? Volatility was the theme for March, as sanctions against Russia and disruptions in food and fuel supplies caused by the war rocked global economies. Sanctions imposed on Russia had the effect of pressuring the economies of the sanctioning countries as well. Western sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine sent safe-haven assets higher early in the month. Gold traded …

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? Well, so much for all the notes I made this month! Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was naturally the big news in all markets this month. Gold rose $1,800 at the start of the month, up $100 to over $1,900 by the 17th after the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine between separatists and the government broke down. Gold prices spiked to a …

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 began the year with a large $28 drop, to end the day at an even $1,800. A rally to $1,825 was negated on the 6th by a $36 drop, to settle at $1,789. Gold spent two more days under $1,800, rising $20 to $1,818 on the 11th. Prices remained above $1,800 through the 26th, hitting the high for the …

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? Gold prices continued having difficulty in moving higher when they should have in December, but ended the month and the year back above $1,800. $1,780 proved to be the big support level this month. It was a seesaw month for gold, as prices would negate big losses a day or two later. Part of this was “good news is bad …

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 October? All the headlines that moved gold prices in October boiled down to two things: inflation, and how the Fed planned to deal with it. Gold spent the first week of October treading water around the $1,750 mark. This ended on the 13th, when gold saw big losses, then big gains, all in one day.  Inflation fears rocked the markets that …

The following column is authored monthly, by Steven Cochran of 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 the factors that affected gold prices. What Did Gold Do in September? Gold was very price sensitive in September, mostly to the downside. Gold saw only muted responses to good news, and overreacted to bad news. Major headwinds included higher bond yields, a stronger dollar, and a growing concern that higher inflation will last longer than central banks said …