Gold & Silver Cool Slightly After Month-Long Rally

Given all the attention gold (in particular) has received in recent months – as well as large gains in the dollar price of both gold and silver – you'd think the average investor would finally be getting involved in this market in a big way.

In reality, though, we're seeing only a tiny uptick in U.S. retail market demand. The demand driving the metals' price gains continues to come from abroad.

Sadly, the "experts" that guide the American mainstream are still steeped in conventional thinking and therefore pooh-pooh gold.

As a result, an allocation to physical precious metals (even via ETFs) is still unusual, despite the fact we're nearly 25 years into a long-term uptrend.

Meanwhile, as our friend Brien Lundin of the renowned Gold Newsletter just wrote, "The tremendous rally we’ve seen in gold over the past two months, and even over the past year, is telling us something about the future... and that “something” is likely some combination of easier money and higher inflation."

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said this week that no one should be worried about a recession.

During his press conference following the March FOMC meeting, Powell called the economy “strong overall,” and he brushed aside rising concerns about a recession, saying, “We don’t make such a forecast.”

Not everyone is convinced.

Recession worries have swelled over the last month as the trade war kicked off in earnest. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast plunged from a 2.3 percent growth rate in late February to -2.8 percent within a matter of weeks. It is currently at -1.8 percent.

And despite Powell’s rosy talking points, the Fed lowered its growth forecast to a 1.7 percent pace this year, down 0.4 percentage points from what it projected in December. Granted, that’s nowhere near recession territory, but it does indicate the central bankers aren’t quite as optimistic as Powell made it sound.

But the Fed has a long track record of painting overly optimistic pictures of the economy -- especially in the years leading up to the Great Recession and 2008 Financial Crisis or more recently when Powell claimed inflation was only "transitory."

The saying goes, “History doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes.” Well, we can easily hear echoes of 2008 in the trajectory of today’s economy.

We had a massive injection of easy money into the market, just like after the dot-com bubble burst. Powell had to raise rates to keep a lid on price inflation, just like Ben Bernanke did in the early 2000s. The Fed started easing monetary policy, promising a soft landing, just like Bernanke promised in 2007.

And we have the same kinds of people telling us today there’s nothing to worry about.

In other news, Money Metals has a few specials going on right now. In particular, check out our discounted pricing on $20 Liberty gold coins, half-gram gold bars, and various silver coins.

At the same time, some folks may feel it's time to take some profits and/or need funds for another purpose. If so, don't forget Money Metals is also an excellent place to SELL your gold and silver. This can be done through any product page at MoneyMetals.com or by calling 1-800-800-1865.

Before we get to this week’s incredible interview, let’s check on the weekly price action.

Gold is pulling back here today and is off its highs from earlier in the week. The yellow metal currently checks in at $3,026 an ounce, up just 1.0% now for the week. Assuming it staves off a late-day collapse, gold is poised to end the week in positive territory for the 11th time now in the last 12 weeks.

Turning to the white metals, silver is off 80 cents or about 2.4% on the week to trade at $33.19 an ounce. Platinum is back under $1,000 after popping above it last week and currently trades at $993, down 1.9% for the week. And finally, palladium is off 1.2% to come in at $988 an ounce as of this Friday midday recording.

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