Latest news with #preciousMetals
Globe and Mail
13 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
With Gold Prices Near Record Highs, Silver Futures Are a Value-Buying Opportunity
September silver futures (SIU25) present a buying opportunity on more price strength. See on the daily bar chart for September silver futures that prices are now in the upper boundary of a sideways and choppy trading range. See at the bottom of the chart that the moving average convergence divergence (MACD) indicator is in a bullish posture as the red MACD line is above the blue trigger line and both lines are trending up. Fundamentally, safe-haven demand for silver is still present in the marketplace amid geopolitical events that remain on or near the front burner. Such is likely to continue for at least the near term. Given the push in the gold market (GCM25) to record highs in recent weeks, and silver prices not doing the same, many precious metals traders consider silver to be a value-buying opportunity at present price levels. A move in September silver futures prices above chart resistance at the top of the aforementioned trading range, at $34.30, would give the bulls more technical power and it would also become a buying opportunity. The upside price objective would be $39.00, or above. Technical support, for which to place a protective sell stop just below, is located at $32.50. IMPORTANT NOTE: I am not a futures broker and do not manage any trading accounts other than my own personal account. It is my goal to point out to you potential trading opportunities. However, it is up to you to: (1) decide when and if you want to initiate any trades and (2) determine the size of any trades you may initiate. Any trades I discuss are hypothetical in nature. Here is what the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has said about futures trading (and I agree 100%): Trading commodity futures and options is not for everyone. IT IS A VOLATILE, COMPLEX AND RISKY BUSINESS. Before you invest any money in futures or options contracts, you should consider your financial experience, goals and financial resources, and know how much you can afford to lose above and beyond your initial payment to a broker. You should understand commodity futures and options contracts and your obligations in entering into those contracts. You should understand your exposure to risk and other aspects of trading by thoroughly reviewing the risk disclosure documents your broker is required to give you.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
A reservoir of gold lies hidden in Earth's core. Scientists say it's leaking
By Jacopo Prisco , CNN Gold and other precious metals deep beneath the Earth eventually make their way up to the surface during the formation of volcanic islands, a study suggests. Photo: 123rf Gold and other precious metals are leaking from Earth's core into the layers above, eventually making their way up to the surface during the formation of volcanic islands like Hawaii, a new study suggests. The theory results from a three-year analysis of Hawaii's basaltic rocks, which originally formed from plumes of magma, or molten rock, rising from the ocean floor. Clues in the form of heavy metals found in the volcanic rocks could confirm a suspicion long held by geologists - that Earth's molten core is not isolated but likely bleeds into the rocky mantle, the layer between the planet's thin crust and the core. "About 40 years ago, people first came up with the theory that maybe the core is losing some material into the mantle, but the signals we got so far were really ambiguous," said Nils Messling, a geochemist at the University of Göttingen in Germany and lead author of the report, published 21 May in the journal Nature . "Now, in my opinion, we have the first very strong evidence that some of the core is actually ending up in the mantle." Scientists already knew that most of the gold on the planet - more than 99.95 percent, according to Messling - lies hidden in the molten core, along with other heavy elements such as platinum. Basalt sampled from a drill core section from the Kilauea Iki lava lake, which erupted in 1959, is shown. The Hawaiian lava rock contains a small trace of Earth's core, the analysis found. Photo: Supplied / CNN / Nils Messling As meteorites bombarded one another in Earth's early history, a reservoir of these precious metals developed when the core formed about 4.5 billion years ago. But this study suggests that at least a tiny amount of that gold has escaped to the surface, raising the fascinating prospect that, if the leaking continues, more and more of this precious metal could travel from the centre of Earth to the crust in the future. "Our findings not only show that the Earth's core is not as isolated as previously assumed. We can now also prove that huge volumes of super-heated mantle material - several hundreds of quadrillion metric tonnes of rock - originate at the core-mantle boundary and rise to the Earth's surface to form ocean islands like Hawaii," said study coauthor Matthias Willbold, a professor at the University of Göttingen, in a statement. To find evidence of this core-mantle interaction, Messling and his coauthors obtained some samples of Hawaiian volcanic rocks from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The research team extracts precious metals from samples of Hawaii's volcanic rock. Photo: Supplied / CNN / Nils Messling "Some were taken by a submarine, from a deep sea volcano, but [otherwise] it's basically just very ordinary-looking basaltic rock, very unassuming, that you would find anywhere on Hawaii," he said. "We started with half a kilogram of rock, we crushed it into a powder, and then we melted it in the oven with some different chemicals, to end up with a sample in liquid form." From that sample, the team extracted all the elements in the platinum group , which includes platinum itself as well as the lesser-known rhodium, palladium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium. The scientists then focused on ruthenium, a silver-grey metal about as rare in Earth's crust as gold. "The mantle has almost no ruthenium in it," Messling said. "It's one of the rarest elements on Earth. But Earth is basically made of meteorites that crashed together, and meteorites [contain] ruthenium, which went into the core when the core formed. So the mantle has next to no ruthenium, and the core has all of the ruthenium. The same with gold and platinum." Earth's core has two layers. A hot, solid metal sphere of iron and nickel is roughly 70 percent the size of the moon, with a radius of about 1221km. A liquid metal outer core is about 2253km thick and extends to about 2897km below the surface, or right up to the mantle. Photo: 123rf In contrast, the mantle, which lies between the planet's outer crust and the molten core, is 2897km of mostly solid rock. To determine whether the extracted ruthenium was originally from the core and not the mantle, the team looked at a specific isotope, or type, of ruthenium that was likely more abundant in Earth's early building materials during the time the core formed billions of years ago. "The vast majority of gold and other precious metals like platinum were likely delivered by massive meteorite impacts during the final stages of Earth's formation - a process known as late accretion," said Pedro Waterton, an assistant professor of geochemistry at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark who was not involved in the study. The presence of the ruthenium isotope in the basalt samples indicates that at least some of the rock was formed from material coming from the molten metallic core. That's because there is consensus, Messling said, that the material that coalesced during the early stages of Earth's formation does not exist in the meteorite record anymore. He added that the isotope signature in rocks from hotspot volcanoes like the ones in Hawaii is entirely different from any other known rock or meteorite. In other words, the ruthenium isotope Messling found was locked away in the core billions of years ago, so detecting the isotope in volcanic rocks today suggests it comes from the core. "It's quite a novel and difficult method," Messling said. "We managed to measure ruthenium in rocks that have next to no ruthenium in them. In half a kilo of rock, it was less than milligrams - a needle in a planet-sized haystack! That's quite exciting - for a geochemist, at least. It was a long but very exciting process." So what's the connection with gold? It's chemically similar to ruthenium, Messling said, so if the core is leaking ruthenium, it is also leaking gold in similar quantities. This would be a "minuscule" amount, however. And even if scientists wanted to extract gold directly from the source, the core-mantle boundary, that's much farther down than current technology could drill. In fact, it's about 236 times deeper than the deepest bore ever drilled - the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia, which reaches a depth of 12.3km. The ruthenium isotope signature in rocks from hotspot volcanoes like the ones in Hawaii is entirely different from any other rock or meteorite on record, according to lead study author Nils Messling. geochemist at the University of Göttingen. Photo: Supplied / CNN / Nils Messling Proof that the core isn't isolated is particularly thrilling because the core and the mantle shouldn't interact at all, Messling said. "Their density is too different, like oil and water, so technically they shouldn't mix. And we still don't have a good mechanism to explain why they do. We don't really know much about the core at all," he said. The Hawaiian rock samples suggest that the leaking process takes between 500 million and 1 billion years to complete, Messling said. "It's something that has occurred a while ago, and we suspect that it probably has been going on forever, and it's probably still occurring now," he explained. According to Messling, if the leaking of precious metals is an ongoing process, it could be that at least some of the gold humans have mined may have come from the core even if the quantity of core material in a single rock is negligible and that the world's supply of gold seems to be replenishing. "It's a very interesting idea that, although this process is tiny and has zero effect if you look at just one island, if you scale it up to 4.5 billion years it could be that it changes the composition of the Earth," he said. Researchers who were not involved in the study expressed positive views on the findings. "We know that the Earth was built from different generations of meteoritic material that were added progressively to the growing planet, and that precious metals from the earliest generations of meteorite material became concentrated into our planet's core while metals from meteorites added in the final stages of the Earth's growth became stranded in our planet's mantle," said Helen Williams, a professor of geochemistry and planetary science at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. The study, she added, confirms that the mantle plumes - rising jets of molten rock coming from the core-mantle boundary that create hot spots like Hawaii - do indeed contain material somehow derived from Earth's metallic core, said Williams, adding that the result was "exciting." Jesse Reimink, an associate professor of geosciences at Pennsylvania State University, agrees. "This is a very old debate, and new data over the past 10 or so years has reinvigorated the possibility that the core was chemically 'leaking' into the mantle over time," he said. "This study really does seem to nail the conclusion - the core does contribute some material to the mantle." The latest research also strengthens the case made in previous work that some mantle plumes incorporate material from Earth's core, said the University of Copenhagen's Waterton. Does that also mean some of the gold in Earth's crust is originally from the core? "Yes, but probably only a very small amount," he said. - CNN
CNN
4 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Hawaii's volcanic rocks offer proof that Earth's core is leaking gold, study finds
Gold and other precious metals are leaking from Earth's core into the layers above, eventually making their way up to the surface during the formation of volcanic islands like Hawaii, a new study suggests. The theory results from a three-year analysis of Hawaii's basaltic rocks, which originally formed from plumes of magma, or molten rock, rising from the ocean floor. Clues in the form of heavy metals found in the volcanic rocks could confirm a suspicion long held by geologists — that Earth's molten core is not isolated but likely bleeds into the rocky mantle, the layer between the planet's thin crust and the core. 'About 40 years ago, people first came up with the theory that maybe the core is losing some material into the mantle, but the signals we got so far were really ambiguous,' said Nils Messling, a geochemist at the University of Göttingen in Germany and lead author of the report, published May 21 in the journal Nature. 'Now, in my opinion, we have the first very strong evidence that some of the core is actually ending up in the mantle.' Scientists already knew that most of the gold on the planet — more than 99.95%, according to Messling — lies hidden in the molten core, along with other heavy elements such as platinum. As meteorites bombarded one another in Earth's early history, a reservoir of these precious metals developed when the core formed about 4.5 billion years ago. But this study suggests that at least a tiny amount of that gold has escaped to the surface, raising the fascinating prospect that, if the leaking continues, more and more of this precious metal could travel from the center of Earth to the crust in the future. 'Our findings not only show that the Earth's core is not as isolated as previously assumed. We can now also prove that huge volumes of super-heated mantle material — several hundreds of quadrillion metric tonnes of rock — originate at the core-mantle boundary and rise to the Earth's surface to form ocean islands like Hawaii,' said study coauthor Matthias Willbold, a professor at the University of Göttingen, in a statement. To find evidence of this core-mantle interaction, Messling and his coauthors obtained some samples of Hawaiian volcanic rocks form the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. 'Some were taken by a submarine, from a deep sea volcano, but (otherwise) it's basically just very ordinary-looking basaltic rock, very unassuming, that you would find anywhere on Hawaii,' he said. 'We started with half a kilogram (1.1 pounds) of rock, we crushed it into a powder, and then we melted it in the oven with some different chemicals, to end up with a sample in liquid form.' From that sample, the team extracted all the elements in the platinum group, which includes platinum itself as well as the lesser-known rhodium, palladium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium. The scientists then focused on ruthenium, a silver-gray metal about as rare in Earth's crust as gold. 'The mantle has almost no ruthenium in it,' Messling said. 'It's one of the rarest elements on Earth. But Earth is basically made of meteorites that crashed together, and meteorites (contain) ruthenium, which went into the core when the core formed. So the mantle has next to no ruthenium, and the core has all of the ruthenium. The same with gold and platinum.' Earth's core has two layers. A hot, solid metal sphere of iron and nickel is roughly 70% the size of the moon, with a radius of about 759 miles (1,221 kilometers). A liquid metal outer core is about 1,400 miles (2,253 kilometers) thick and extends to about 1,800 miles (2,897 kilometers) below the surface, or right up to the mantle. In contrast, the mantle, which lies between the planet's outer crust and the molten core, is 1,800 miles (2,897 kilometers) of mostly solid rock. To determine whether the extracted ruthenium was originally from the core and not the mantle, the team looked at a specific isotope, or type, of ruthenium that was likely more abundant in Earth's early building materials during the time the core formed billions of years ago. 'The vast majority of gold and other precious metals like platinum were likely delivered by massive meteorite impacts during the final stages of Earth's formation — a process known as late accretion,' said Pedro Waterton, an assistant professor of geochemistry at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark who was not involved in the study. The presence of the ruthenium isotope in the basalt samples indicates that at least some of the rock was formed from material coming from the molten metallic core. That's because there is consensus, Messling said, that the material that coalesced during the early stages of Earth's formation does not exist in the meteorite record anymore. He added that the isotope signature in rocks from hotspot volcanoes like the ones in Hawaii is entirely different from any other known rock or meteorite. In other words, the ruthenium isotope Messling found was locked away in the core billions of years ago, so detecting the isotope in volcanic rocks today suggests it comes from the core. 'It's quite a novel and difficult method,' Messling said. 'We managed to measure ruthenium in rocks that have next to no ruthenium in them. In half a kilo (1.1 pounds) of rock, it was less than milligrams — a needle in a planet-sized haystack! That's quite exciting — for a geochemist, at least. It was a long but very exciting process.' So what's the connection with gold? It's chemically similar to ruthenium, Messling said, so if the core is leaking ruthenium, it is also leaking gold in similar quantities. This would be a 'minuscule' amount, however. And even if scientists wanted to extract gold directly from the source, the core-mantle boundary, that's much farther down than current technology could drill. In fact, it's about 236 times deeper than the deepest bore ever drilled — the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia, which reaches a depth of 7.62 miles (12.3 kilometers). Proof that the core isn't isolated is particularly thrilling because the core and the mantle shouldn't interact at all, Messling said. 'Their density is too different, like oil and water, so technically they shouldn't mix. And we still don't have a good mechanism to explain why they do. We don't really know much about the core at all,' he said. The Hawaiian rock samples suggest that the leaking process takes between 500 million and 1 billion years to complete, Messling said. 'It's something that has occurred a while ago, and we suspect that it probably has been going on forever, and it's probably still occurring now,' he explained. According to Messling, if the leaking of precious metals is an ongoing process, it could be that at least some of the gold humans have mined may have come from the core even if the quantity of core material in a single rock is negligible, and that the world's supply of gold seems to be replenishing. 'It's a very interesting idea that, although this process is tiny and has zero effect if you look at just one island, if you scale it up to 4.5 billion years it could be that it changes the composition of the Earth,' he said. Researchers who were not involved in the study expressed positive views on the findings. 'We know that the Earth was built from different generations of meteoritic material that were added progressively to the growing planet, and that precious metals from the earliest generations of meteorite material became concentrated into our planet's core while metals from meteorites added in the final stages of the Earth's growth became stranded in our planet's mantle,' said Helen Williams, a professor of geochemistry and planetary science at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. The study, she added, confirms that the mantle plumes — rising jets of molten rock coming from the core-mantle boundary that create hot spots like Hawaii — do indeed contain material somehow derived from Earth's metallic core, said Williams, adding that the result was 'exciting.' Jesse Reimink, an associate professor of geosciences at Pennsylvania State University, agrees. 'This is a very old debate, and new data over the past 10 or so years has reinvigorated the possibility that the core was chemically 'leaking' into the mantle over time,' he said. 'This study really does seem to nail the conclusion — the core does contribute some material to the mantle.' The latest research also strengthens the case made in previous work that some mantle plumes incorporate material from Earth's core, said the University of Copenhagen's Waterton. Does that also mean some of the gold in Earth's crust is originally from the core? 'Yes, but probably only a very small amount,' he said.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Precious Metals E-Waste Recovery Market Report 2025: Revenues to Increase from $11.25 Billion in 2025 to $14.63 Billion by 2029 due to Growing Aerospace and Automotive Sectors
Dublin, May 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Precious Metals E-Waste Recovery Market Report 2025" has been added to precious metals e-waste recovery market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $10.7 billion in 2024 to $11.25 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.1%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to increased urbanization, rapid growth in the automotive industry, rapid technological advances, and strong economic growth in emerging markets. The precious metals e-waste recovery market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $14.63 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to improvements in plant efficiency, the increasing growth of the aerospace sector, the growing automotive market, and the growing investment in infrastructure. Major trends in the forecast period include improvements in plant efficiency, the increasing growth of the aerospace sector, the growing automotive market, and the growing investment in increasing use of consumer electronics and home appliances worldwide is a major factor driving the growth of the precious metals e-waste recovery market. For example, in April 2023, data from the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Association, under Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, indicated that the production volume of consumer electronic equipment reached 129.44 billion yen, a 107.9% increase from the previous year. Thus, the expanding use of consumer electronics and home appliances is propelling the precious metals e-waste recovery market expansion of the automotive industry is anticipated to drive the growth of the precious metals e-waste recovery market. For example, in May 2023, a report from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) revealed that 85.4 million motor vehicles were produced worldwide in 2022, reflecting a 5.7% increase compared to 2021. The overall production of cars and commercial vehicles also experienced growth, reaching 85,016,728 in 2022, up from 80,145,988 in 2021. Therefore, the thriving automotive industry is expected to be a driving force for the precious metals e-waste recovery market in the future.A noteworthy trend gaining traction in the precious metals e-waste recovery market is the adoption of innovative practices for precious metal recovery. For instance, Mint Innovations, a clean tech company based in New Zealand, employs microbes and low-cost chemicals to recover precious metals from e-waste. The utilization of microbes facilitates certain processes that would otherwise require high temperatures and extreme operating in the precious metals e-waste recovery market are actively developing innovative solutions to fortify their market positions. In March 2023, TDK Corporation, a Japanese multinational electronics corporation, announced its subsidiary TDK Ventures Inc.'s investment in and co-leading of pH7 Technologies' Series A fundraising round. pH7 Technologies employs a sustainable and ecologically friendly approach that has the potential to revolutionize precious metal extraction from mining and recycling resources. Their patented metal-extraction method utilizes non-toxic chemical and inorganic chemistry, along with electrochemistry, to extract metals and critical minerals from ores, concentrates, and waste products. This novel technology reduces the environmental impact of mining and mineral processing while enabling efficient metal extraction from low-grade resources or challenging substrates that are economically unviable using conventional January 2024, Enva, an Ireland-based company specializing in recycling and resource recovery solutions, acquired WEEE Solutions for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition is intended to bolster Enva's electronic waste management capabilities. Through this strategic move, Enva aims to broaden its service offerings and solidify its position in the expanding waste recycling industry. WEEE Solutions is a UK-based company focused on recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the precious metals e-waste recovery market in 2024. Europe is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the precious metals e-waste recovery market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the precious metals e-waste recovery market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Italy, Spain, Canada. Report Scope Markets Covered:1) By Type: Gold, Copper, Silver, Other Types2) By Source: Home Appliances, Consumer Electronics, IT and Telecommunication Equipment, Other Sources3) By Application: Trashed, RecycledSubsegments:1) By Gold: Recovery From Circuit Boards; Recovery From Connectors and Pins; Recovery From Hard Drives2) By Copper: Recovery From Wiring and Cables; Recovery From Circuit Boards; Recovery From Electrical Components3) By Silver: Recovery From Circuit Boards; Recovery From Solder; Recovery From Photovoltaic Panels4) By Other Types: Palladium Recovery; Platinum Recovery; Rare Earth Metals Recovery; Recovery of Other Valuable MetalsKey Companies Profiled: Heraeus Holding; Umicore; Boliden Group; Johnson Matthey; Dowa HoldingsTime Series: Five years historic and ten years Ratios of market size and growth to related markets, GDP proportions, expenditure per Segmentation: Country and regional historic and forecast data, market share of competitors, market Attributes Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 200 Forecast Period 2025-2029 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2025 $11.25 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2029 $14.63 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 6.8% Regions Covered Global Companies Featured Heraeus Holding Umicore Boliden Group Johnson Matthey Dowa Holdings Sims Limited Materion Corporation TES-AMM Pet Ltd Sabin Metal Corporation Metallix EnviroLeach Technologies Inc. Arch Enterprises, Inc Closed Loop Environmental Alliance Network Inc. Akademi Cevre Proses Makina Company Electrocycling GmbH EMP Recycling UAB Global Electronics Recycling Sollau s.r.o. BIRLIK RECYCLING Greentec Electronic Recycling Association Ontario Electronic Stewardship Shift Recycling Ecycle Solutions Gannon & Scott Specialty Metals Smelters & Refiners Pecem Boston Metal Aluminum International Rajhi Steel Maaden Company Eid Metal Industries Co Alexkor Soc Ltd Frontier Diamonds Ltd Kareevlei Mining (Pty) Ltd Petra Diamonds Ltd Southstone Minerals Ltd Trans Hex Groep Ltd For more information about this report visit About is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. CONTACT: CONTACT: Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@ For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
One-Minute Analysis: The Bull and Bear Cases for Gold and Silver
My favorite reading involves no beating around the bush. Short and right to the point. Here are one-minute bull and bear cases for the gold (GCM25) and silver (SIN25) markets, followed by my take on the two precious metals' price direction going forward. Bullish Points for Gold and Silver Geopolitics and the corresponding safe-haven demand for gold and silver are still in play. The next geopolitical hotspot to push gold and silver prices higher remains unclear. What we do know is that a geopolitical flare-up is never far away. That will never change. Both metals are still in shorter-term and longer-term overall bullish technical postures. The U.S. Dollar Index ($DXY) remains in a longer-term downtrend, and currency markets tend to see longer-lasting price trends. Central bank demand for gold has been and likely will continue to be robust as many countries around the globe want to move away from the U.S. dollar in their sovereign reserves. China's economy is still shaky, which has prompted more of the Chinese public to stock up on gold due to notions of a weakening Chinese yuan on the foreign exchange market. Bearish Points for Gold and Silver While the technical postures for gold and silver remain overall bullish, there are bearish chart clues that have developed recently to begin to suggest market tops are in place — especially for gold. Also, the gold market is in a very mature bull run, and the bulls may now be exhausted. Improving trader and investor risk appetite in the general marketplace recently is bearish for safe-haven gold and silver. The better appetite is evidenced by price uptrends in the U.S. stock indexes and strong price recoveries from the early April lows. The crude oil (CLN25) futures market has seen its recent price uptrend negated amid reports of slowing global demand for oil. This is due to fears of slowing world economic growth due to trade wars. Crude oil is the leader of the raw commodity sector and when crude starts to sputter, many raw commodity markets do the same. U.S. Treasury yields have been on the rise over the past few weeks, suggesting higher interest rates and diminishing prospects for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in the coming months. My Bias The longer-term buy-and-hold gold and silver investors can still rest easy. The historical cyclicality of commodity market prices suggests new all-time highs will continue to be made in gold and silver, even if they're down the road a way. Shorter-term gold and silver traders should be more worried. The gold market is showing signs of buyer exhaustion in this major and very mature bull run. Recent rebounds in gold prices on the daily chart have seen the price fail to reach the previous for-the-move highs. That's suggesting a developing price downtrend on the daily chart. My bias is that gold prices have put in a near-term market top — meaning a peak that will last at least several weeks, if not several months. Silver prices have been trading sideways and choppy for the past five weeks, suggesting complacency or even some exhaustion from the silver bulls. I'm not quite as negative on silver as I am gold, on a near-term basis. However, I do think silver bulls will be constrained if gold prices continue to develop a near-term downtrend. I'll bet I've overlooked a bullish or bearish point or two. Tell me what you think. I really enjoy getting email from my valued Barchart readers all over the world. Email me at jim@
