For yet another day, precious metals are posting solid gains and benefiting from the overall level of uncertainty present in the marketplace. For the past few weeks, we have seen stock market volatility, poor economic data, and a host of other factors really shake the overall level of confidence exhibited by investors. Because of all this, the mood investors have with regard to precious metals has really shifted and the global market has become much more bullish on gold and silver.

This week, and for much of the past two weeks, investors are preoccupied with the upcoming European Central Bank meeting. With the ECB expected to make a major policy shift announcement at their meeting on Thursday, the market’s attention is firmly fixated on what the ECB might have to say. The Euro currency, which has been on a downward trend for the past few months, is continuing to suffer and is expected to lose even more value against the US Dollar. In addition to the ECB meeting, investors will also have plenty of economic data to focus on from the US and elsewhere around the world.

ECB Meeting Consumes Market Attention

For the past few weeks, investors of all types have been speculating with regard to what they think the outcome of this month’s ECB meeting will be. As the weeks passed, more and more investors became convinced that this would be the meeting where we see a major shift in monetary policy. Just last week, this belief grew even stronger once it was announced that the European Court of Justice deemed it legal for the ECB to explore experimental monetary policy practices.

Now, all eyes are on Thursday when the ECB will meet and subsequently make their post-meeting statement. An immediate effect of a shift in monetary policy will likely be a weaker Euro currency, but with the Euro being battered the last few weeks, one is left to wonder just how much further the currency can fall.

In addition to all of this, the market will still be paying attention to the price action of crude oil. Oil has done particularly poorly for the past few months, and this is now beginning to come to the aid of precious metals. How much further oil can fall will be a point of interest for investors as we head further into this New Year.