Precious metals started the day off strongly, but by the time things were all said and done spot values were seen giving up much of the early day’s gains. From an economic standpoint, this week will prove to be a good bit slower and more subdued than last week. With that said, however, yesterday brought about a particularly weak existing home sales report from the United States. According to the report, existing home sales fell in August for the first time in almost half of a year. This news worked against the progress of the US Dollar as well as US equities.

Today’s quiet nature saw the attention of investors shift to new military developments in the Middle East regarding ISIS rebels. As the week wears on, I anticipate that the market’s focus will not shift entirely too far from developments in and around Iraq and Syria.

US Airstrikes Begin In Syria, Market Reacts

Only a few weeks ago, US president Barack Obama took to mainstream television in order to deliver his announcement regarding the United States’ involvement in the ongoing fight against ISIS rebels in Iraq and Syria. Though no one was surprised to hear that the US would continue utilizing air power against rebel units and locales, most were surprised to hear Obama claim that strikes in Syria were going to be considered fair game. Nonetheless, Obama’s remarks did not have all that much of an impact on the marketplace.

What did have an impact, however, was the breaking of news stories last night claiming that the United States’ use of air power against ISIS rebels had just gotten underway. Now, not even 24 hours into the bombing campaign, the path of destruction is noticeable. As a result, investors began the day today exhibiting a strong risk-averse attitude which ended up providing metals with a bit of a boost. Though that risk-aversion faded as the day went on, it was enough to see gold and silver spot values add a bit of value.

As the week continues I expect that we will continue watching for the latest developments in Syria simply because there isn’t a large quantity of economic data set to be made public. Gold and silver may have received a boost today, but most experts agree that it is going to take a lot more than conflict in Syria for the currently bearish market to be turned into anything but that.