The battle between the unstoppable forces and immovable objects – or so they think- in Washington D.C. continues as the nation heads into the 8th day of a partial government shutdown.

The battle between the unstoppable forces and immovable objects – or so they think- in Washington D.C. continues as the nation heads into the 8^th day of a partial government shutdown. More concerning, however, is the debt ceiling that sits a little more than a week away and has investors worried that the U.S. could default on its debt come October 17^th. The consensus, for now, seems to be that a default is unlikely but there is still quite a bit of time, between now and then, for that sentiment to change. The precious complex is little changed from the previous sessions close. Gold is trading $1327 after closing Monday at $1325.10. Platinum has moved back above the $1400 level following reports of more potential labor issues in the platinum and gold mining sectors, this time in Zimbabwe. The Associated Mineworkers Union of Zimbabwe will begin negotiating salary increases in November, according to Bloomberg News. The union is said to be requesting as much as a 50% increase in salaries. The white metal now trades $1405. In other global economic news, China’s service sector PMI, as reported by Markit/HSBC came in at 52.4 last month, down slightly form an August reading of 52.8. Third quarter earnings season kicks off after U.S. market close today but market participants will likely be unfazed unless there are some significant surprises. Have a great day!