Gold’s technical posture on thecharts remains constructive, says Lukman Otunuga, research analyst atFXTM. The metal is modestly higher so far Thursday, helped by a softer U.S.dollar. “With the greenback somewhat shaky and still struggling to gain ground,gold is likely to remain supported moving forward,” Otunuga says. “Taking alook at the technical picture, the metal still fulfils the prerequisites of abullish trend on the daily charts. There have been consistently higher highsand higher lows, while the MACD [moving average convergence/divergence] hascrossed to the upside. Bulls remain in control above $1,300 with a solidbreakout, and a weekly close above $1,320 opening a path towards $1,333.”
By Allen Sykoraof Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
Thursday January 11, 2018 10:52
Gold probably needs to undergo a period ofprice consolidation after a sharp run-up since last month, says Alex Thorndike,senior precious-metals dealer with MKS (Switzerland) S.A. ComexFebruary gold rose from a mid-December low of $1,238.30 an ounce to a multi-monthhigh of $1,328.60 on Wednesday. The contract was at $1,320.90, up $1.60 for theday, as of 10:25 a.m. EST. “Our view from here is that gold needs to undergo someconstructive consolidation,” Thorndike says. “We have risen some $80 sincemid-December and given the increase in Comex positioning since then, we feelthat there will be sellers on rallies. That being said, as Chinese seasonalbuying picks up, the downside should remain supported into February. We feelthat a $1,300-1,335 range should hold or the short term.”
By Allen Sykoraof Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
Thursday January 11, 2018 10:52
Chinese car-sales data bode well forpalladium, says Commerzbank. The metal is used for catalytic converters ingasoline-powered cars, which make up the bulk of the Chinese market. Analystscite a report from theChina Association of Automobile Manufacturers showing that China sold fewercars in December than in the same period a year ago - around 2.65 million - yetthe December figure was the highest of 2017. For last year as a whole, 24.74million cars were sold, 1.8% up year-on-year. “As such, car sales have risenfor at least 12 years in a row...even though dynamism cooled noticeably lastyear,” Commerzbank says. “In absolute terms, very large numbers of cars weresold in November and December because China completely reversed the tax breaksfor buying cars with smaller engines as of 1 January 2018. The CAAM expects anincrease in sales of around 3% in 2018. The good Chinese car sales provide aretrospective explanation for last year’s rise in the palladium price and arealso likely to support the price this year.”
By Allen SykoraFor Kitco News
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