Price gains for gold, silver as outside markets bullish

(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are solidly higher in early U.S. trading Monday with the markets hitting nearly three-week highs. Bullish outside markets on this day are helping to propel the metals, as crude oil prices have hit a 6.5-year high and the U.S. dollar index is weaker. Some chart-based buying is also featured to start the U.S. trading week, as the near-term technical postures for gold and silver futures have improved a bit. August gold futures were last up $27.30 at $1,810.60 and September Comex silver was last up $0.304 at $26.805 an ounce.

Global stock markets were mixed to flat overnight. The U.S. stock indexes are pointed toward weaker openings when the New York day session begins, with the S&P and Nasdaq poking to new record highs, following a three-day U.S. holiday weekend. Summertime, low-volatility trading doldrums may continue this week, amid notions the major central banks of the world may have to keep their money policies easier for longer following recent economic data that was not deemed robust enough to start to pull back the reins on very accommodative money policies. Traders are looking ahead to Wednesday afternoon’s release of the minutes of the June FOMC meeting. Australia’s central bank left its monetary policy unchanged at its meeting Tuesday and indicated it won’t raise interest rates before 2024.

In other overnight news, the Euro zone reported its May retail sales at up 5.6% from April and up 9.0% year-on-year. Those numbers beat market expectations.