8th February 2017

Gold and silver both pushed higher on Tuesday, although platinum and palladium lost some ground. A stronger dollar and a more stable equity market kept the rally somewhat in check. In the currency space, the Euro got to a low of 1.0656 as the French elections come into sharper focus. Although Marine Le Pen is still well behind in the polls, markets are nervous about the staying power of her rivals. The leading center-right contender (Francois Fillon) faded last week on reports of financial irregularities having to do with his wife, while the other leading contender (Emmanuel Macron) is having to deal with rumors of a gay relationship outside his marriage. Meanwhile, the premium investors are demanding to hold French government debt over German bonds has moved to its highest levels since November 2012 this week. Sterling, on the other hand, seems to be weakening any time we see progress being made on the Brexit agenda, as is the case this week. In this regard, the British Parliament is taking up Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit legislation as it opens a three-day debate. May warned lawmakers not to obstruct the will of voters with time-consuming amendments. She is expected to invoke Article-50 by the end of March, which is when the two-year negotiation process with the EU is to commence.