The precious complex was able to pare losses and firm up over night

The precious complex was able to pare losses and firm up over night following yesterday’s bout of selling which could probably be attributed, in some part, to quarter end profit taking. Rumors that China may sit at the stimulus table, as early as next week, may have also have something to do with the rebound in prices. Platinum is seeing support from the ongoing stalemate between Anglo and the unions…currently trading at $1764. The markets appear to be in a wait and see mode right now as investors await the details of Spain’s 2013 budget that was released earlier today. The potential of new austerity measures, cutbacks and reforms have the populace of the heavily indebted nation up in arms and  as protests rage on, the benchmark 10-year bond yields in Spain have breached the psychological level of 6%.  Here in the U.S., durable goods orders fell 13.2%, a decline the likes of which haven’t been seen since the beginning of 2009. Second-quarter GDP was revised down from the previous estimate of 1.7%, coming in at a more depressing 1.3%. One bright spot in today’s data dump is the decline in initial jobless claims. However, the aforementioned figures for durable goods and GDP would suggest that the decline in jobless claims will probably be temporary. Have a great day!