Metals Minute 72: Precious Metals Prices Up Sharply

Wild week for the metals, with all up sharply. Even with a large paper smash put in place this morning that knocked them down a couple of percents, gold is up 3% for the week to $1,998, after briefly reaching a new nominal high of $2078 yesterday. Silver is up 3.6% to $26.15, platinum is up 4.2% to $1,118, and palladium is up 14% to $3,018.

One year numbers are mixed, with gold up 16%, silver up 1%, platinum down 4.8%, and palladium up 30%.

One of the factors driving the train for precious metals and other commodities right now is the economic war that has grown out of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Many nations with resources are announcing a reluctance to export those resources unless they can provide for their citizens first.

In the last 24-48 hours, there have been announcements by Mexico, Russia, China, Hungary, and others, regarding limits on exports of grain, oil, precious metals, base metals, natural gas, fertilizer, and other raw materials necessary for lives and economies to function. Oil-producing nations in the Middle East refuse to take calls from the White House to increase production in recent development. Power is shifting from paper to tangible assets, such as precious metals.