Both gold and silver came galloping out of the gate Monday (5/20) to make up for losses and then some as heavy trading acted to reverse a downward trend for precious metals. Experts are crediting higher investor confidence, which some believe was triggered by positive economic news and reports that the Federal Reserve might ratchet down its inflationary policy rhetoric. Many gold mining stocks and ETFs also saw positive performance, although it may be too early to say that these metals are poised for sustained comeback. For more on this continue reading the following article from TheStreet.
Gold prices on Monday afternoon reversed morning losses as technical trading gained upside momentum.
Gold for June delivery at the COMEX division of the CME jumped $19.40 to settle at $1,384.10 an ounce. The gold price traded as high as $1,397.90 and as low as $1,336.30 an ounce, while the spot price was adding $34.50, according to Kitco’s gold index.
Silver prices dropped early Monday morning to the lowest level since 2010, but a steady rise off those lows past key buying levels, combined with short-sellers having to cover their short positions, boosted silver and gold.
"As the market started to come up, it was hitting [short-seller] stops and then that old huge level of support [for silver], that low [traders] would put all their buy stops there. Once [prices] hit that, that’s when it did that parabolic move up," said Phil Streible, senior commodities broker at RJO Futures. "All those shorts that got in this morning, they’re all covering, and all the longs that got blown out get back in on the long side."
Claim up to $26,000 per W2 Employee
- Billions of dollars in funding available
- Funds are available to U.S. Businesses NOW
- This is not a loan. These tax credits do not need to be repaid
Silver prices for July delivery gained 23 cents to $22.58 an ounce, retracing from a three-year low of $20.25 an ounce. The U.S. dollar index was sinking 0.49% to $83.80.
Traders were saying Monday morning ahead of the sudden gap higher that the morning lows in gold and silver were a result of downward momentum that had carried over from Friday, and belief that the Federal Reserve was signaling a retreat from inflationary policies.
"I don’t know any particular news other than people continue to be concerned about exiting — the [Fed] stimulus exit — with the economic news improving, consumer confidence was better," said Adrian Day, president of Adrian Day Asset Management.
"We saw the market really gap open, it was a continuation of Friday’s selloff," Streible said in an interview. "We saw an accelerated downturn, just silver hitting a lot of [sell] stops, and the stops have been very thin as the lower levels go."
Gold mining stocks closed mostly higher on Monday. Eldorado Gold (EGO) surged 10%, while Kinross Gold (NG) popped 7.8%.
Among volume leaders, Barrick Gold (ABX) increased 7.3%
Gold ETF SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) climbed 3.1% to $135.12 a share, while iShares Gold Trust (IAU) added 3% to $13.57.
This article was republished with permission from TheStreet.
