Investors have been buying gold and silver as protection against a U.S. default but the absence of an explosive rally Tuesday is a signal that traders expect disaster will be averted.
Gold for August delivery settled $4.60 higher to $1,616.80 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, a late-day bounce that pushed gold to a record settle. The gold price has traded as high as $1,616.80 and as low as $1,607.80 while the spot gold price was up $2.80, according to Kitco's gold index.
Silver prices added 33 cents to close at $40.69 an ounce. The U.S. dollar index was losing 0.81% at $73.50, hitting a record low against the Swiss franc, while the euro was up 0.98% versus the dollar.
Despite the fact that gold prices settled at a record Tuesday, the buying action was restrained. Some investors jumped at the high price to take profits while other traders were distracted by options expiration on the Comex, which put some technical pressure on gold.
"Today you have to be cautious," warned Phil Streible, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock, who said Tuesday's gold price was dominated by technical trading and that investors will need to wait for Wednesday to find real direction.
Investors had been piling into the metal as protection in case Washington cannot reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2, but market watchers said gold would have been pushed up to $1,700 if a default was considered a realistic prospect, instead of stalling out at $1,600. That has many analysts predicting lower prices.
"Most likely a deal will get done [which] should put pressure on the gold and silver market," said Streible, who thinks gold will find support at $1,580 and silver at $37.80 an ounce. Streible is putting his money where his mouth is and scaling out of some of his gold positions while buying put options for protection, which means he is betting on lower prices. Read More
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