The precious complex is softer from Friday’s close with the exception of palladium.

The precious complex is softer from Friday’s close with the exception of palladium. The issue of shrinking Russian state stockpiles has reared its ugly head yet again and palladium looks well supported above its previous close and now trades at $742.50. Reports indicate that Russian palladium inventory sales were down 68% in 2012 from the previous year, according to JM. Platinum is trying to get back on track after giving back some of Friday’s late day gains. The white metal currently trades at $1685. Gold continues the trend downward following its most recent attempts to break through that pesky $1695 mark early last week. The yellow metal is currently hovering around its Friday close at $1655 and could remain rather quiet ahead of the FOMC meeting that concludes on Wednesday. The end of the week brings the heavily anticipated government non-farm payrolls. Have a great day!