Gold prices are moderately lower in early U.S. trading Monday and hovering not far above last week’s 5.5-year low. Silver futures are also weaker and hit a six-year low overnight. The precious metals bears continue to dominate trading action, helped in large part by the bearish posture of the key “outside markets.” February Comex gold was last down $6.40 at $1,069.90 an ounce. March Comex silver was last down $0.126 at $13.99 an ounce.
The key outside markets on Monday morning find the U.S. dollar index trading higher and scored a seven-month high overnight. The USDX remains in a near-term price uptrend and the bulls have the firm technical advantage. Meantime, Nymex crude oil prices are lower and hit a three-month low overnight. Oil is trading just above $40.00 a barrel and bears are in solid technical control.
Copper prices hit another six-year low Monday, which is a worrisome clue the grip of price deflation in the major world’s economies remains tight. Copper is a major construction input. Less demand for copper can be extrapolated to mean generally weaker construction levels occurring worldwide.
In overnight news, the Euro zone composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 54.4 in November versus 53.9 in October. The number in November was just above market expectations and is upbeat, following recent economic data coming out of the Euro zone that has been downbeat. A PMI reading above 50.0 indicates expansion.
Trading activity in the U.S. markets is likely to wind down quickly as the week progresses, due to the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
via Kitco
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Alfonso Esparza
trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
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