As most analyst expected last week, the Fed lowered interest rates by 25 basis points. Ironically, the expected seemed unexpected to Wall Street as the market reaction soured with disappointment - there was no early Christmas present of a larger cut.
Stocks closed lower Friday with renewed inflation worries and the fear it’ll prevent the Fed from lowering rates further and enough to help the housing and credit crisis.
Precious metals were lethargic for the most part. For the week:
- Platinum lost $1
- Silver lost $0.37
- and Gold closed down $20
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Bullion movement was overall uneventful most of the week. More attention was paid to employment and housing reports. Analyst were closely monitoring the data and whispers of the Fed, trying to judge potential interest rate adjustments.
Given the latest data, many analysts expect a quarter-point cut next week. For news on these fronts, watch the included Reuters videos.
Bullion prices for the week
Platinum was lackadaisical. It started at $1450 on Monday and closed $8 higher to $1458 an ounce.
Gold made a small upward surge and once again moved above $800 on Thursday. However, the stay was short and gold ended up closing Friday at $792 an ounce.
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