Gold hits 2-mo. high, bulls seeking more on the upside

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(Kitco News) -Gold and silver prices are moderately up in midday U.S. trading Monday, with goldscoring a two-month high and the bulls gaining momentum. It appears the metalstraders have turned their focus from the bearish aspects of a tighter U.S.monetary policy, to the bullish prospects of rising and even problematic priceinflation in the coming months. A lower U.S. dollar index to start the tradingweek was also friendly for the metals market bulls. December gold was last up $8.30at $1,824.90 and December Comex silver was last up $0.328 at $24.485 an ounce.

Globalstock markets were mixed in overnight trading. The U.S. stock indexes are mixedat midday. The U.S. indexes hit record highs last Friday. There remains littlerisk aversion in the global marketplace at present. The U.S. House ofRepresentatives late Friday approved a pared-down U.S. government spendingplan.

Inother weekend news, China reported its October imports were up 20.6%, year-on-year,which was less than expected. However, China's exports in the period werehigher than expected, at up 27.1%. These large numbers do fall into the camp ofcontinued rising inflationary pressures. U.S. inflation reports are on tap thisweek.

China'sCommunist Party has begun a four-day meeting at which President Xi Jinping isexpected to make a move to extend his rule indefinitely. Xi wants to extend hisambitious plans for the domestic economy and its global economic andgeopolitical power.

Thekey outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index weaker on a correctivepullback after hitting a new high for the year last Friday. Nymex crude oilprices are higher and trading around $82.00 a barrel. The oil market bulls havebecome wobbly. Meantime, the 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield is presentlyfetching 1.481%.

Technically,December gold futures prices hit a two-month high today. Bulls have the overallnear-term technical advantage and have restarted a five-week-old uptrend on thedaily bar chart. Bulls' next upside price objective is to produce a close abovesolid resistance at the September high of $1,836.90. Bears' next near-termdownside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technicalsupport at the November low of $1,758.50. First resistance is seen at today'shigh of $1,828.20 and then at $1,836.90. First support is seen at today's lowof $1,813.80 and then at $1,800.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.5.

December silver futures prices hit a two-week hightoday. The silver bulls and bears are now back on a level overall near-termtechnical playing field. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closingprices above solid technical resistance at $25.00 an ounce. The next downsideprice objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $23.00.First resistance is seen at $24.75 and then at the September high of $24.945.Next support is seen at today's low of $24.13 and then at $24.00. Wyckoff'sMarket Rating: 5.0.

DecemberN.Y. copper closed up 615 points at 440.30 cents today. Prices closed nearerthe session high today. The copper bulls and bears are on a level overallnear-term technical playing field amid recent choppy trading. Copper bulls'next upside price objective is pushing and closing prices above solid technicalresistance at 460.00 cents. The next downside price objective for the bears isclosing prices below solid technical support at 410.00 cents. First resistanceis seen at today's high of 441.45 cents and then at last week's high of 445.05cents. First support is seen at today's low of 433.00 cents and then at lastweek's low of 427.80 cents. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 5.0.

By Jim Wyckoff

For Kitco News

Follow @jimwyckoffjwyckoff@kitco.comwww.kitco.com Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

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