Gold and Silver Close Higher After Bernanke’s Speech

On Monday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for April delivery increased $23.20 to settle at $1,685.60 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures gained 48 cents to close at $32.75.

Both precious metals climbed higher as Ben Bernanke placed more quantitative easing back on the table.  In a speech at the National Association for Business Economics spring conference, Bernanke noted some positive signs in the job market, but remained cautious on the future.

Don’t Miss: Silver Goes Green

The Federal Reserve also believes it can aid economic growth by “continued accommodative policies.”  If the slowdown is due to structural factors, as opposed to cyclical factors, the Fed still believes it can tweak outcomes.  “If this hypothesis is wrong and structural factors are in fact explaining much of the increase in long-term unemployment, then the scope for counter-cyclical policies to address this problem will be more limited.  Even if that proves to be the case, however, we should not conclude that nothing can be done,” Bernanke explained.

In afternoon trading, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) increased 1.6 percent, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) jumped 2.05 percent.  Gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) such as AngloGold (NYSE:AU) and Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) both gained about 2 percent.  Meanwhile, silver miners (NYSEARCA:SIL) such as Silvercorp Metals Inc. (NYSE:SVM) and First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) increased 1.15 percent and 1.54 percent, respectively.

Investor Insight: Bernanke Lends a Helping Hand to Gold and Silver

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Disclosure: Long EXK, AG, HL, PHYS

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric McWhinnie at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

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