(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are sharply higher and hit record peaks again today. December gold hit a new all-time high of $4,289.90 an ounce, as of this writing. December silver reached a record high of $53.405 an ounce. A steady flow of safe-haven demand and technical buying continue to propel the two precious metals into the stratosphere. Gold and silver market bears are just standing on the sidelines, unwilling to step in front of a steaming locomotive. December gold was last up $87.00 at $4,289.00. December silver prices were up $1.977 at $53.365.
The U.S. government shutdown that shows no signs of ending, rising U.S.-China tensions, political turmoil in France and wobbly tertiary currency markets are all driving the safe-have buying. This comes, somewhat surprisingly, as the global stock markets are not exhibiting serious risk aversion.
The Fed’s beige book, out Wednesday afternoon, favored the metals bulls, too. U.S. economic activity was little changed in recent weeks and employment levels held largely stable, according to the Federal Reserve’s “beige book.” However, overall consumer spending edged lower, and prices continued to rise, with several districts reporting that input costs increased at a faster pace. The beige book only reinforced notions the Fed will make at least two more quarter-point rate cuts in the coming months and starting later this month.
The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index lower. Crude oil prices are lower and trading around $58.00 a barrel. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is presently 4.019%.
Note: The gold market operates through two primary pricing mechanisms. The first is the spot market, which quotes prices for on-the-spot purchase and immediate delivery. The second is the futures market, which sets prices for delivery at a future date. Due to year-end positioning market liquidity, the December gold futures contract is currently the most actively traded on the CME.
Technically, December gold futures bulls have the strong overall near-term technical advantage. Bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at $4,400.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $4,000.00. First resistance is seen at $4,300.00 and then at $4,350.00. First support is seen at the overnight low of $4,214.50 and then at $4,200.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 9.5.
December silver futures bulls have the strong overall near-term technical advantage but now appear exhausted. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $55.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at last week’s low of $46.70. First resistance is seen at the overnight record high of $53.405 and then at $54.00. Next support is seen at the overnight low of $51.195 and then at $51.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 9.5.
(Hey! My “Markets Front Burner” weekly email report is my best writing and analysis, I think, because I get to look ahead at the marketplace and do some market price forecasting. Plus, Gold prices are sharply up in early U.S. trading Monday and hit another record high. Silver prices are also up and notched another 14-year high. The powerful but mature bull market runs in gold and silver are accelerating. That’s one early clue that from a time perspective, major market tops could come sooner rather than later. However, from a price perspective, there still could be much more room on the upside for gold and silver prices during this acceleration phase of the mature bull markets, before they peter out for a while. December gold was last up $40.80 at $3,815.90. December silver prices were up $0.361 at $44.575.
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