All 4 Precious Metals Rose on December 20, 2017

All four precious metals had an up day on Wednesday, December 20, 2017. Gold increased 0.43% on the day and closed at $1,267.80 per ounce.

Silver rose 0.73% and ended at $16.20 per ounce. Platinum was the top performer and rose 0.81%, closing at $921.50 per ounce. Palladium rose 0.58% and closed at $1,035.40 per ounce.

There is a chance that unrest in the market could have led to an increase in precious metals, as they are sought after as haven assets. Bitcoin markets attracted investors’ attention as the cryptocurrency fell almost 10% for the day.

However, the negative trend in precious metals and miners was reversed after the Federal Reserve increased interest rates. All these metals had recorded a price downswing before the interest rate hike took place.

However, prices rebounded after the interest rate hike. Gold (GLD), silver (SLV), platinum (PPLT), and palladium (PALL) had five-day trailing gains of 1.7%, 2.4%, 5.3%, and 2.0%, respectively.

Interest rates and precious metals maintain a close inverse relationship to each other. Precious metals are non-yield-bearing assets that are negatively affected when Treasury rates rise. The chart above compares the performance of the US Treasury two-year and ten-year interest rates (SHY) (IEF) to gold.

Among the precious metal mining companies that also increased on Wednesday are Yamana Gold (AUY), Randgold Resources (GOLD), Eldorado Gold (EGO), and Alacer Gold (ASR). These miners rose 2.5%, 1.4%, 0.79%, and 3.9%, respectively.