Metals Minute 138: Silver Up 5%

We have all the metals moving higher this morning; gold up 1%, platinum up 2.5%, palladium up 4%, and silver around 5% higher. Inflation numbers are expected tomorrow, but some of the leaked/estimated information indicates it might come in around 8.0% YoY for August. While lower than a previous couple of months, that is still a high reading for inflation.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said reducing inflation is the administration’s top priority. Some economists believe more unemployment is needed to come close to the inflation target of 2%. The unemployment rate would have to nearly double to 6.5% over the next two years to help bring inflation down. With two vacancies for each person looking for work right now, creating more unemployment could be painful for us all.

While the official unemployment rate is lower than normal, the percentage of people working is the lowest in 45 years. In the same way “inflation” has been redefined, so has “unemployment”.

We also have higher energy prices/lack of available energy, shuttering metal refiners across Europe, and sanctions removing Russian precious metals from some market sectors. These trends are putting upward pressure on refined and available metals for sale.