(Kitco News) – Gold and silver prices are lower at midday today, in a choppy, two-sided trading session. The significantly bearish near-term technical postures for both metals are inviting the speculators to play the short sides of the futures markets at present. Gold hit a six-week low and silver a two-year low today. August gold futures were last down $6.80 at $1,810.60. Gold prices are close to key chart support levels ($1,800.00 and $1,792.00) that if breached would likely set off heavy sell stop orders in the futures market. July Comex silver futures were last down $0.363 at $20.29 an ounce.
The U.S. data point of the day was the personal income and outlays report for May, including the personal consumption expenditures price index component of the report that is said to be the Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation gauge. The May CPE price index came in up 6.3%, year-on-year, with the core rate up 4.7% in the same period. In the April report, the PCE price index was also reported up 6.3%, year-on-year. Metals market bulls were briefly assuaged by the stable readings in the report, as many reckoned the numbers could have been worse, possibly prompting the Federal Reserve to be even more aggressive in its monetary policy tightening. Raw commodity traders, including metals traders, have taken a tack recently of being more worried about less consumer and commercial demand for commodities amid an economic recession—as opposed to the notions of higher inflation being supportive for raw commodity prices.