(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are sharply higher and hit record highs in early U.S. trading Monday. Safe haven bidding is featured to start a holiday-shortened trading week, amid heightened geopolitical tensions. February gold was last up $55.50 at $4,442.80. March silver prices were up $1.401 at $68.90.
February gold futures overnight hit a record high of $4,453.00 an ounce, while March silver futures notched an all-time high of $69.525 an ounce. The two precious metals rallied on the weekend news that the U.S. is pursuing a third oil tanker near Venezuela, according to a U.S. official, as President Trump intensifies an oil blockade on Nicolás Maduro’s government. The tanker being pursued is flying under a false flag and under a judicial seizure order, and is believed to be the Bella 1 tanker, a Panamanian-flagged vessel sanctioned by the U.S., according to a Bloomberg report. The attempted interdiction follows the U.S. military boarding of the Centuries supertanker early Saturday and the Skipper on Dec. 10. The blockade appears to be putting pressure on Venezuela’s oil storage and could lead to a production collapse and widespread civilian unrest in Venezuela. Crude oil futures also rallied on the U.S.-Venezuela tensions. Meantime, a senior Russian general was killed after a bomb exploded in his car in Moscow, according to investigators who pointed suspicion for the assassination at Ukraine. Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, who was in charge of the operational training department in the Russian General Staff, died from injuries sustained when the device planted under his car detonated early Monday, the Investigative Committee said in a telegram statement and as reported by Bloomberg. It opened a murder investigation and said the involvement of Ukrainian special services in the killing was one potential theory being examined. Ukraine hasn’t commented.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland president says FOMC should pause on rate cuts due to inflation concerns. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack says U.S. monetary policy is in a good place to pause and assess the effects of 75 basis points of rate cuts in the economy during the first quarter. “Where we are today is my base case that we can stay here for some period of time until we get clearer evidence that either inflation is coming back down to target or the employment side is weakening more materially,” Hammack said in an interview for the Wall Street Journal’s Take On the Week podcast conducted Thursday and aired Sunday, and as reported by Bloomberg. The Fed’s latest interest rate cut on Dec. 10 faced three dissents, the most since 2019. Officials are divided about the appropriate path for rates, with some policymakers more concerned about a cooling labor market and others saying the Fed should prioritize reining in above-target inflation. “We took 75 basis points off of the policy rate, which should help support that labor side of our mandate, but we do need to be mindful,” said Hammack, who will be a voting member for the Federal Open Market Committee in 2026. “I’m very focused on making sure that we can get inflation back to target. That is one of our primary objectives and it’s important that we complete the job.” Hammack said U.S. inflation has been stuck near 3% for much of the past year and a half and input costs for businesses are still rising, which could lead to renewed price increases. That reinforces the need for caution, she said.
The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index weaker. Crude oil prices are higher and trading around $57.75 a barrel. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is presently 4.16%.
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, February gold futures bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at $4,500.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $4,250.00. First resistance is seen at the overnight record high of $4,453.00 and then at $4,475.00. First support is seen at $4,400.00 and then at the overnight low of $4,367.90. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 9.0.
March silver futures bulls’ next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $70.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $63.00. First resistance is seen at the overnight record high of $69.525 and then at $70.00. Next support is seen at the overnight low of $67.47 and then at $66.00. 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, I’ll throw in an educational feature to move you up the ladder of trading/investing success. And it’s free! Sign up here; it’s real easy. https://www.kitco.com/services
