Yesterday’s Consumer Confidence Index was slightly lower than expectations

Yesterday’s Consumer Confidence Index was slightly lower than expectations with a reading of 82.3. The strike is now in its fourteenth week and still no solution has been reached. The Platinum producers have been trying to make offers to their employees through local radio stations, text messages, e-mails and other forms of communication. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union has kindly asked the producers not to bypass the union as employees will not directly assent to any negotiated offers. At this point it looks like any signs of a resolution being reached before the national elections on May 7^th is highly unlikely. According to the ADP report, Private Sector Employment for April is up 220,000 vs. consensus of 210,000 with the most jobs added to the construction sector. The stronger than expected nonfarm employment change dropped gold prices by $10 which rebounded moments later after the first quarter’s GDP figure was reported to be much weaker than predicted up .1% vs. expectations of 1.2%. Stay tuned for the release of the FOMC Statement at 2:00 pm. Have a great day.