The US dollar hit a six-week low today as investors moved further away from the troubled currency.
The US Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback’s value relative to a basket of six foreign currencies, dropped as much as 0.4% to 79.285 before recovering this afternoon.
Major news outlets cited an increase in risk appetite as the reason for the dollar’s drop. But they failed to mention the $1.84 trillion US government deficit that is projected for this fiscal year that ends September 30th or the ballooning $11.5 trillion national public debt, which grows by almost $4 billion a day.
Meanwhile, gold took a breather from a three day rally that pushed the yellow metal as much as 3.3% higher since the beginning of the week. At last look, gold for August delivery stood at $935.90 an ounce.
In other precious metals, silver was up 0.7% to $13.295 an ounce this afternoon. Silver prices have gained as much at 5.7% this week. Platinum prices have also increased as much as 6.7% while palladium was up as much as 7.9% this week. Platinum stood at $1,169.50 an ounce while palladium prices were last seen at $249.50 an ounce.
Energy prices also edged higher this afternoon. Crude oil for August delivery touched the week’s high above $62 per barrel while natural gas was trading at 3.585 at last look.
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