Gold, silver see solid price gains as USDX drops

(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices solidly higher in early U.S. trading Tuesday, with silver notching a four-week high. A drop in the U.S. dollar index on this day and more bullish near-term chart postures for both metals are inviting buyers to step up. December gold futures were last up $16.80 at $1,782.10. December Comex silver was last up $0.681 at $23.945 an ounce.

Global stock markets were mostly higher in overnight trading. The U.S. stock indexes are pointed to higher openings when the New York day session begins.

Still near the front burner of the marketplace is the global supplies shortage and transportation bottlenecks that have many of those supplies' prices rising, including energy. Many industrial metals prices are soaring, including copper, aluminum and magnesium. Nymex crude oil prices are higher and hit a seven-year high of $83.58 a barrel overnight. Natural gas prices are also at very elevated levels. As winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, amid the rising energy costs and worries in some countries about securing winter heating needs, it seems "Murphy's law" will almost certainly come into play: a much harsher-than-normal winter for many countries in the Northern Hemisphere.