Friday’s Jackson Hole symposium

The precious metals complex is under pressure this morning as hopes for more central bank action seem to be waning ahead of Friday’s Jackson Hole symposium. Gold had dropped ~$25 from yesterday’s close and has since clawed its way back to the $1670 level…still nearly .5% in the red. Platinum is trading down ~$30 from yesterday’s  close while palladium is down more than $10. Sentiment regarding further Fed stimulus was boosted by last week’s release of July’s FOMC meeting minutes. However, mixed signals from inside the Fed camp as well as economic data, both domestic and global, are leading many to believe the overall situation may not be definitively bad enough to warrant a third round of QE. Spanish short-term bond yields fell to .946% from 2.434% indicating that tensions in the Eurozone are calming a bit. The most recent auction helped push the Euro through the $1.25 mark. A more telling sign of relative stability in the Eurozone is the fact that Spain’s benchmark 10-year yields are holding steady at 6.40% - not great but then again it’s not getting any worse. Here in the U.S. the Case Shiller 20-city Home Price Index showed prices rising in all of the cities analyzed. August consumer confidence data is set for release at 10 am EST. Have a great day!