- Generally upbeat economic comments from Janet Yellen make for a convenient excuse for sizable declines in precious metals today, but then how do we explain lower yields at both ends of the interest rate curve? At 2.62% before Yellen sat down in front of Congress, the 10-year Treasury yield is now down to 2.59%, and the December 2015 Eurodollar contract - as good a proxy for worry over rate hikes as exists - has gained five basis points (higher price means lower chance of hike).
- Maybe more at work could be chatter about a de-escalation of tensions over Ukraine.
- In other news, the China Gold Association reports the country's total Q1 gold consumption at 322.99 metric tons, up 0.8% from a year ago. Consumption of gold bars, however, fell about 44% to 67.954 tons.
- GLD -1.4%, SLV -1.3%
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