(Kitco NewsWire) - Spot gold prices are near steady and spot silver prices are higher after the close Thursday, as lower crude oil prices and easing Treasury yields offset a firmer U.S. dollar. At the time of writing, spot gold was trading near $4,542.40 an ounce, down 0.04%, while spot silver was trading near $76.655, up 1.03% on the session.
Weekly jobless claims fell by 3,000 to 209,000 for the week ended May 16, while the prior week was revised to 212,000. April housing starts fell 2.8% to a 1.465 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, while building permits rose 5.8% to 1.442 million. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index fell to -0.4 in May from 26.7 in April, while flash U.S. manufacturing PMI rose to 55.3, services PMI slipped to 50.9 and composite PMI held at 51.7. The data mix left the rate signal uneven: labor remains firm, housing starts softened, permits improved and regional factory activity stalled.
The Strait of Hormuz remains the main geopolitical transmission channel into oil, rates and precious metals, but Thursday’s trade was defined by a partial risk-premium unwind. U.S.-Iran talks were described as moving toward a possible deal, though Iran’s uranium stockpile and Tehran’s position on a potential toll system in the strait remain obstacles. President Donald Trump has said the Strait of Hormuz should remain an international, toll-free waterway.
The current market impact is less supportive for gold from the safe-haven side but more supportive through lower oil and yields. Across other markets, the clearest effects were lower energy prices, softer energy equities, firmer broad equities and a less severe inflation impulse.
U.S. equities closed higher following the latest reversal in crude. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 7,445.72, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% to 50,285.66 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.1% to 26,293.10. The Russell 2000 rose 0.9% to 2,843.45. The gains came after Brent crude fell from near $109 in the morning to settle below $103, helping bond yields ease and allowing major indexes to erase early losses.
The key outside markets see Nymex WTI crude oil prices lower and settling around $96.35 a barrel, while Brent crude settled near $102.58. The U.S. dollar index is firmer. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is trading near the 4.6% area.
Technically, spot gold bulls’ next upside price objective is to push prices back above the $4,550 to $4,600 resistance zone, with a sustained move targeting $4,660 and then $4,680. Bears’ next near-term downside price objective is a break below $4,489.30, with deeper downside targets at $4,470 and then $4,370. First resistance is seen at $4,550 and then at $4,600. First support is seen at $4,530 and then at $4,489.30.
Spot silver bulls’ next upside price objective is to drive prices back above the $77.24 to $78.00 area, with a move above that zone targeting $79.00 and then $85.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is a break below $76.14, with deeper downside targets at $75.19 and then $74.63. First resistance is seen at $77.24 and then at $78.00. Next support is seen at $76.14 and then at $75.19.
