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Gold Mixed Amid Chart Consolidation; Big U.S. Data Week Ahead

This article is more than 9 years old.

(Kitco News) - Gold futures prices are slightly higher while spot gold prices are slightly lower in early U.S. trading Monday. Some chart consolidation and bargain hunting are featured. Buying interest in gold is being limited by a bit more risk appetite in the market place to start the trading week. August Comex gold was last up $2.00 at $1,305.30 an ounce. Spot gold was last quoted down $3.60 at $1,305.25. December Comex silver last traded up $0.086 at $20.78 an ounce.

There were no major, markets-moving developments on the geopolitical front over the weekend, so the market place is starting to focus more on other matters such as the big U.S. economic data week that lies just ahead. The headliners include the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the key U.S. employment report on Friday. The U.S. second-quarter GDP report is also out on Wednesday.  But the geopolitical tensions in the world have not just evaporated. The European Union is presently debating what kind of further sanctions to slap on Russia over its annexation of part of Ukraine and the ensuing complicity in the downing of a Malaysian jet airliner two weeks ago. Don’t be surprised to see geopolitics back on the front burner of the market place soon. Such would likely be bullish for gold, U.S. Treasuries and the U.S. dollar.

U.S. economic data due for release Monday includes the U.S. flash services purchasing managers index (PMI), pending home sales, and the Texas manufacturing outlook survey.

Wyckoff’s Daily Risk Rating: 6.0 (Geopolitics have moved off the front burner of the market place, for now.)

(Wyckoff’s Daily Risk Rating is your way to quickly gauge investor risk appetite in the world market place each day. Each day I assess the “risk-on” or “risk-off” trader mentality in the market place with a numerical reading of 1 to 10, with 1 being least risk-averse (most risk-on) and 10 being the most risk-averse (risk-off), and 5 being neutral.

The London A.M. gold fix is $1,305.00 versus the previous P.M. fixing of $1,294.75.

Technically, August gold futures bears still have the near-term technical advantage as a three-week-old downtrend is in place on the daily bar chart. The gold bulls’ next upside near-term price breakout objective is to produce a close above solid technical resistance at $1,325.90. Bears' next near-term downside breakout price objective is closing prices below solid technical support at last week’s low of $1,287.50. First resistance is seen at the overnight high of $1,309.40 and then at $1,315.00. First support is seen at the overnight low of $1,301.10 and then at $1,300.00.

December silver futures bears have the slight near-term technical advantage as prices are in a three-week-old downtrend on the daily bar chart. Silver bulls’ next upside price breakout objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at last week’s high of $21.21 an ounce. The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below major technical support at $20.00. First resistance is seen at Friday’s high of $20.86 and then at $21.00. Next support is seen at the overnight low of $20.66 and then at $20.50.

By Jim Wyckoff, contributing to Kitco News; jwyckoff@kitco.com

Follow me on Twitter @jimwyckoff