(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are down in early U.S. trading Thursday, with silver once again leading the way. Profit-taking from the shorter-term futures traders is featured in both markets, following recent gains that have started new near-term price uptrends. April gold was last down $42.20 at $5,184.40. March silver prices were down $4.878 at $86.245.
U.S., Iran hold third round of nuclear talks. The U.S. and Iran started a third round of nuclear talks in Geneva, Switzerland today, with days to go until President Trump’s deadline for a deal. “The two parties have been locked in a tense, months-long standoff over the Islamic Republic’s atomic activities and are negotiating through mediator Oman at its embassy in Geneva, the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency said and as reported by Bloomberg. “Iran has come here with a very reasonable amount of flexibility,” Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Iranian state TV on the sidelines of the talks in Switzerland. “We are entitled to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, that’s a right that is recognized.” Trump has given Iran a deadline of March 1-6 to strike a deal and has threatened military action if it fails to do so, sparking fears of a new Middle East war that could embroil Israel and Gulf Arab oil producers.
Russia launches major drone, missile attack on Ukraine. Russia set off a massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and President Trump discussed potential next steps in peace talks. Dozens of people, including children, were injured in Russian strikes on eight regions of the country involving 420 drones and 39 missiles, Zelenskiy said today in a post on Telegram and as reported by Bloomberg. Energy infrastructure was targeted in Kyiv and the Dnipro and Poltava regions, he said. Top U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators are due to meet in Geneva today to discuss economic issues, including a so-called prosperity plan for financing Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, said the report.
Wall Street struggling to figure out economic impact of AI. A blog post earlier this week by Citrini Research titled “The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis” sparked a stock market dip as investors digested the worrisome scenario of AI replacing white-collar jobs and causing a deflationary spiral. “The post imagined a scenario where extremely capable AI agents have replaced vast swaths of white-collar jobs, wiping out consumer spending and pushing the global economy into a deflationary spiral, causing stocks of firms like Uber and Mastercard to tumble,” Bloomberg said in a report. “The reaction to the post is the latest indication that Wall Street is struggling to understand the trajectory of AI, with investors worried that the technology will be either not lucrative enough or too disruptive to the economy,” said the report. This report falls into the camp of the safe-haven metals bulls.
The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index a bit firmer, with crude oil prices down and trading around $64.25 a barrel. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is presently 4.05 percent.
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.
April gold futures bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at $5,400.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $4,854.20. First resistance is seen at this week’s high of $5,269.40 and then at $5,300.00. First support is seen at this week’s low of $5,109.50 and then at $5,100.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 7.0.
March silver futures bulls see the next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $100.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at the February low of $71.815. First resistance is seen at $88.00 and then at the overnight high of $90.255. Next support is seen at this week’s low of $84.56 and then at $82.50. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.5.
(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
