Metals Minute 162: New Schedule Higher Metals

Precious metals were firing on all four cylinders for the week as they all moved higher. Gold was up 3% to $1,718, silver up 7% to $21.57, platinum up 4% to $1,010, and palladium up a fraction to $1,954.

From a year ago today, gold is down 6%, silver is down 11%, platinum is down 5%, and palladium is down 4%.

The YTD numbers reveal that the metals continue to outperform, with palladium up 7%, platinum up 5%, gold down 5%, and silver down 6%. Compared to major stock indexes such as DJIA (-10%), Nasdaq (-29%), S&P (-20%), and Bitcoin (-63%), the worst-performing precious metal has done better than the best-performing alternative asset category, including government bonds.

The election results are still dripping in. As it looks now, the Republicans may have regained control of the House, with the Senate still too close to call. Outside of a few states, the predicted “Red Wave” does not appear to have materialized nationally. This implies we may see gridlock in Washington, with no single entity likely to have the power or will to change the economic trends or direction we are currently in.