(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are are slightly higher in midday U.S. trading Thursday, on mild short covering in the futures markets and corrective bounces after gold hit an 8.5-month low and silver a two-year low on Wednesday. However, it is disappointing to the gold and silver bulls that their metals’ prices did not react more to the upside with today’s big rebound in crude oil prices. Rising U.S. Treasury yields today also squelched the metals market bulls. August gold futures were last up $2.60 at $1,739.00. September Comex silver futures were last up $0.041 at $19.20 an ounce.
Global stock markets were mostly up overnight. U.S. stock indexes are pointed toward higher at midday. The marketplace quickly digested Wednesday afternoon’s release of the minutes of the last FOMC meeting. The marketplaces sees a 96% chance the Federal Reserve will raise its key Fed funds rate by 75 basis points at its next FOMC meeting.
The U.S. data point of the week is Friday’s employment situation report for June. The key non-farm payrolls number is expected to come in up 250,000 compared to the 390,000 rise in the May report.
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The key outside markets today see Nymex crude oil prices sharply up and trading around $104.00 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index is slightly up at midday after hitting a 20-year high Wednesday. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note is fetching 3.009%. The 2-year/10-year note yield curve at times this week has inverted, which is one clue of impending U.S. recession.
U.S. economic data due for release Thursday includes the weekly jobless claims report, the Challenger job-cuts report, the international trade report, the monthly chain store sales index and the weekly DOE liquid energy stocks report.
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](/images/live/gold.gif?0.2924175530478188){kind=small}
Technically, August gold futures saw prices hit an 8.5-month low Wednesday. Bears have the solid overall near-term technical advantage. Prices are in a four-month-old downtrend on the daily bar chart. Bulls' next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at $1,800.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,700.00. First resistance is seen at $1,750.00 and then at Wednesday’s high of $1,771.50. First support is seen at this week’s low of $1,730.70 and then at $1,715.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 1.5.
![Live 24 hours silver chart [ Kitco Inc. ]](/images/live/silver.gif)
September silver futures prices hit a two-year low Wednesday. The silver bears have the solid overall near-term technical advantage. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at the May low of $20.525 an ounce. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $18.00. First resistance is seen at $19.50 and then at $19.85. Next support is seen at $19.00 and then at this week’s low of $18.705. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 1.0.
July N.Y. copper closed up 1,235 points at 354.15 cents today. Prices closed nearer the session high on short covering after hitting a 1.5-year low Wednesday. The copper bears still have the solid overall near-term technical advantage. A steep four-week-old price downtrend is in place on the daily bar chart. Copper bulls' next upside price objective is pushing and closing prices above solid technical resistance at last week’s high of 384.30 cents. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid technical support at 325.00 cents. First resistance is seen at this week’s high of 361.80 cents and then at 370.00 cents. First support is seen at today’s low of 344.35 cents and then at this week’s low of 337.00 cents. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 1.5.
