Commodities Brief – Gold loses grip on 1600 support, crude oil holds above 95.00

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - Gold has fallen for a third straight session, this time falling below the key 1600 barrier/support Tuesday during American trading. With the dust settling in Cyprus and the banking quagmire there slowly resolving, the yellow metal managed to trade lower in recent moments, despite the release of downtrodden US economic data (Consumer Confidence in March 59.7 vs. 68.0 expected). At the time of writing, gold prices have settled at USD $1597.01 per oz. A close above 1600 would lend a degree of confidence to gold bears, though at this rate the metal is still slated to notch a monthly gain in March, which when viewed with previously monthly performances, has to be seen as a minor positive.

Silver prices in retreat
The white metal has also experience a fall during US trading Tuesday, though the decent was far more abrupt than its yellow counterpart. Following the release of several US indicators, the price of silver has fallen lower towards the 28.68 mark, which proved to be the bottoming out of pricing for now. At the time of writing, silver spot prices are trading at just USD $28.70 per oz. – indeed the price is firmly entrenched in a sideways trading pattern and until silver manages to break out in either direction, the near-term outlook remains neutral.

Crude holds onto 95.00 level and beyond
WTI Crude prices have built on yesterdays steadfast performance to edge higher Tuesday. While the 96.00 level proves to be the next hurdle for crude, the price has managed to hold onto its gains and negotiate a price of USD $95.62/bbl during US trading. Prolonged stability above 95.00 will likely allay any concerns of an immediate retracement following yesterdays advance, while a movement above 96.00 could signal a larger uptrend.