Gold and silver posting upside price corrections Thursday
New York (July 1) Gold and silver prices are modestly up in early U.S. trading Thursday, on some short covering in the futures markets and perceived value buying in the cash market. Still the bulls are constrained by bearish near-term technical charts and a lack of risk aversion in the marketplace as the second half of 2021 begins. August gold futures were last up $5.00 at $1,776.70 and September Comex silver was last up $0.171 at $26.37 an ounce.
Global stock markets were mixed to weaker overnight. The U.S. stock indexes are pointed toward narrowly mixed openings to start the third quarter when the New York day session begins. Lazy summertime trading continues in the world equity markets, amid no major geopolitical flare-ups and generally upbeat trader and investor attitudes. Traders and investors are so far not paying much attention to the delta strain of the Covid-19 virus that is becoming more problematic in Asian countries and other regions of the world.
In overnight news, the June Euro zone manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) was reported at 63.4 compared to 63.1 in May. A reading above 50.0 suggests growth in the sector.
Meantime, the Euro zone jobless rate in May was 7.9% versus 8.1% in April.
Traders are awaiting Friday morning’s employment situation report for June from the Labor Department—arguably the most important U.S. economic data point of the month. The key non-farm payrolls number is forecast to come in at up 700,000 compared to a rise of 559,000 in May. The unemployment rate is seen at 5.6% versus 5.8% in May.
The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index slightly higher and hitting a 2.5-month high overnight. Nymex crude oil futures are higher and trading around $74.75 a barrel after hitting a 2.5-year high of $74.90 overnight. Energy traders are awaiting the conclusion of Thursday’s OPEC meeting. The yield on the benchmark U.S. Treasury 10-year note is presently fetching 1.473%.
U.S. economic data due for release Thursday includes the weekly jobless claims report, the Challenger job-cuts report, the U.S. manufacturing PMI, the ISM report on business manufacturing, construction spending, and the global manufacturing PMI.
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