Commodities Brief – Gold stuck in sideways consolidation, silver falls below 29.00 mark

Gold prices faced an uphill battle yesterday following the release of upbeat Retail sales figures in the United States, however as of European trading Thursday the yellow metal found itself in familiar territory, stuck in consolidation at the 1580-1590 region, just below the 1600 barrier/resistance. In these moments gold is trading sideways at USD $1588.17 per oz. – over the past few weeks the steady release of indicators out of the US have pointed to a more stable economy than previously imagined, reducing gold’s appeal as a sanctuary.

Silver falls back below 29.00
Silver spot prices failed to trend higher and reach the first upside target of 29.45 yesterday, instead reversing course over night and falling below the 29.00 level. Without any direction right now, investors seem content on waiting on the sidelines, as the white metal has given no indication during European trading of a move in either direction. Ultimately, a retest of the 29.00 level is the first step in assessing if any upward movement can be sustained and prolonged stability above this level is essential for this scenario. At the time of writing silver is trading at USD $28.86 per oz.

Crude trades sideways
WTI Crude oil has also been trading in a sideways movement, though it has been operating between the 92-93.00 region over the past few days as it finally cleared the 91.00 barrier. Prices were faced with short-term headwinds yesterday, following the outlook by the International Energy Agency (IEA), which cut its global demand outlook for a second month, while U.S. crude stockpiles climbed 2.62 million barrels from an expected rise of 2.3 million barrels. Presently, crude is negotiating a price of USD $92.71/bbl Thursday.