Precious metals spot values are edging slightly higher today, though like yesterday, have not moved too far from where they opened. For many people in the United States, this week is going to be short and slow due to the celebration of the Thanksgiving day holiday on Wednesday. Still, with that being said, global investors have plenty of information and economic data to mull over and might be receiving even more by the time this week is through. At present, the market is wholly concerned with what potential policy shifts might come about in the EU, especially after recent comments from the European Central Bank’s president, Mario Draghi.
In the Middle East, investors are paying close attention to the spot value of crude oil, which is now hovering right around a 3-year low. With OPEC scheduled to hold a meeting on Thursday, you can bet that the market will be paying attention to see what, if anything, the oil cartel will do to uplift and stabilize prices. Finally, attention is also being paid to Asia, where uncertain economic conditions abound, even after recent policy changes enacted by the Chinese Central Bank. Though for many of us this will be a short week, it is clear to see that this week has no shortage of information for investors to discuss and ponder.
OECD Slams EU Economic Growth
A major international organization, the Organization for Economic Growth and Development, slammed the Eurozone today by saying that its slow growth is causing overall global growth to lag. Citing a lack of government spending and strict requirements with regard to EU-member state’s budget deficits, the OECD says somethings need to be changed, and changed fast, if Europe wants any hope of leaving this period of stagnation behind them.
Just last week, ECB president Mario Draghi commented on the possibility of him and his colleagues changing monetary policy to include more government purchases of government bonds. This type of government spending, known to Americans as quantitative easing, helped the US economy out of its financial struggles and is, according to some, fully capable of doing the same for Europe. With the next meeting of the European Central Bank set to take place in about two weeks or so, you can bet your bottom dollar that the market will be quite preoccupied with anything and everything going on in Europe.
This week, however, the big attention-grabbing headline will be Thursday’s OPEC meeting. Because of oil prices that have declined for the better part of the past month, the large oil cartel is being called upon to do something in order to help stabilize prices. One thought is that OPEC will decide to cut down on daily oil production quotas from member countries. If nothing else, it is thought that OPEC might strictly enforce current quotas, which are typically ignored in lieu of a search for more profits.
