Gold jumped to its highest in more than nine months on Friday, as the dollar retreated on political uncertainty in the United States along with a suspected Islamist attack in Spain that boosted bullion’s safe-haven appeal. However, an intraday reversal sent precious metals futures prices spiraling lower as equities recovered later in the session.This left December gold finishing down $2.40 for the week to settle at 1291.6. Silver posted a scant gain of $.015 for the week to close at 1708.5. To say the broader market has been headline driven this week would be an understatement. Due the headline driven nature precious metals and equities traded inverse of each other all week. In Europe, Spain mounted a sweeping anti-terrorism operation on Friday after a suspected Islamist militant drove a van into crowds in Barcelona, killing 13 people in what police suspect was one of a planned wave of attacks. Markets were also uncertain about U.S. President Donald Trump’s ability to push ahead with policies after the disbandment of two high-profile business advisory councils over his remarks on violence in Virginia. While the North Korean situation abated this week, the chaos in Washington D.C. reached a fever pitch. To quell the market and his critics, Trump let go chief adviser Steve Bannon in a move the market cheered as all three indexes rallied Friday after the move. As equities recovered after suffering major losses mid-week, gold and silver lost their morning gains essentially finishing the week unchanged.
Next week’s Jackson Hole Policy Conference, which gathers central bankers from around the world to discuss common problems, is the most likely event to keep an eye on. This is assuming that things get back to normal in Washington D.C. Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s speech at the event on Friday will be one of the highlights. Analysts also highlighted next week’s U.S.-South Korea military exercises as a possible driver for gold. Investors will also be eyeing U.S. durable goods orders from July, scheduled to be released on Friday as well as new and existing home sales from July, expected to be out on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Other releases include services and manufacturing PMI data on Wednesday.
My swing numbers for December gold and September silver comes in as follows. For December gold, support comes in at 1273.9 and with a close below at 1256.2 the next level of support. Resistance comes in at 1308.1 and with a close above 1324.6 the next level to the upside. For September silver, support is down first at 1668.5. a close below and the market could test 1628.5. Resistance is up at 1744.5 and with a close above 1780.5 is the next level to the upside.
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