Weekly Round-Up: Gold, Silver Up on Government Shutdown Worries

The gold price continued to gain this week against a weakened US dollar, which hit a three-and-a-half-year low.
As of 12:05 p.m. EST on Friday (January 19), gold was trading at $1,334.28 per ounce against the ever-decreasing dollar. The yellow metal also gained support from safe-haven demand on the back of a looming US government shutdown.
With those factors at play, some large institutional investors are seeking to diversify their portfolios, and are using gold to hedge against potential market turmoil. Even so, some experts have cautioned investors that the dollar’s weakness may not continue.

The gold price has rallied about 26 percent since its December 2015 low of $1,051.10, and has held steady above $1,200 since early 2017. Last year brought the precious metal‘s biggest gain since 2010. 
For its part, the silver price was trading at $16.96 per ounce as of 12:25 p.m. EST on Friday. Kitco notes that silver is also experiencing an uptick due to the potential government shutdown.
In a report released on Thursday (January 18), the Silver Institute identified a number of factors that could support the white metal in 2018. “Strong industrial demand, jewelry demand and renewed investor interest will continue to support the market as mine production could decline for the second consecutive year by 2% in 2018,” said Michael DiRienzo, the organization’s executive director.
Rounding out the week in metals, as of 12:50 p.m. EST on Friday, copper was down slightly for the week, trading at $3.18 per pound
Meanwhile, oil prices were down after reaching a high of almost $70 per barrel earlier this week. As Friday at 1:09 p.m. EST, oil sat at $63.23 per barrel. OPEC and its allies plans to meet this weekend in Oman to discuss their output cuts and rising production elsewhere in the world. 
OPEC is particularly concerned about the effect that rising prices may have on oil production. Mike Wittner, head of oil market research at Societe Generale (EPA:GLE) in New York, commented, “there are many reasons they’d be concerned, but top of the list is: how will U.S. production respond?”
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Securities Disclosure: I, Nicole Rashotte, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.