The return of the greenback restricted the bulls to the metals markets

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(Kitco News) – Gold and silver prices fell near midday on Wednesday. Both markets hit six-week lows early on. A solid rebound in the US Dollar Index hitting a six-week high today, and heading higher, is a massively bearish out-of-market element working against the metals market mid-week bulls. Gold for June was last down $8.70 at $1,984.50, and silver in July was down $0.053 at $23.84.

Risk appetite of traders and investors increases in the middle of the week. The US debt limit extension talks held on Tuesday afternoon were upbeat. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy appointed top envoys to negotiate a deal to avoid an unprecedented national stumble. Biden has cut short an upcoming foreign trip in hopes of striking a deal before the June 1 deadline. At a press conference on Wednesday morning, Biden said “we had a productive meeting” on Tuesday. “We will come together because there is no alternative.”

Asian and European stock markets were mixed overnight. US stock indices are higher around midday.

The market continues to monitor the comments made by Federal Reserve officials this week. While their views were mixed on whether or not to continue tightening US monetary policy, traders and investors in general see their collective feedback as still a bit hawkish. This supported the US dollar index, which in turn put pressure on precious metals.

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Today the major overseas markets see the US Dollar Index rising strongly and the Dollar bulls gaining momentum. Crude oil prices are higher on NYMEX and is trading around $72.25 a barrel. Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield is currently at 3.56%.

Technically, gold futures prices for June hit a six-week low today. The bulls still have the overall technical advantage in the near term but are fading. The 2.5 month old uptrend on the daily bar chart has been invalidated at least temporarily. The next bullish price target for the bulls is to produce a close above the solid resistance at the record high of $2,085.40. The bears’ next bearish price target in the near term is pushing futures prices below the strong technical support level at $1,950.00. We see the first resistance at $2,000.00 and then $2,007.00. The first support is seen at today’s low of $1,978.10 and then April’s low of $1,965.90. Wyckoff Market Rating: 6.5

July silver futures prices hit a six-week low again today. The bulls and silver bears on a near-term overall level are the technical playing field but the bulls are fading. The next bullish price target for silver bulls is to close prices above the strong technical resistance at the April-May high of $26,435. The next downtrend price target for the bears is to close the price below the strong support level at $23.00. We see first resistance at $24.00 and then this week’s high at $24.395. The next support is seen at the low of the day at $23,715 and then $23.50. Wyckoff Market Rating: 5.0.

New York July copper closed 910 points at 375.80 cents today. Prices closed near the session high and hit a 5.5-month low early in the day. Prices also posted an off-day bullish trend higher today. The Copper Bears have the overall technical advantage in the near term. Prices have been in a downtrend for the past four weeks on the daily bar chart. The next bullish price target for copper bulls is to push prices and close above the strong technical resistance at 400.00 cents. The next downside price target for bears is to close prices below the strong technical support at 350.00 cents. We notice the first resistance at this week’s high at 377.90 cents, then at 380.00 cents. The first support appears at 370.00 cents, then today’s low at 365.25 cents. Wyckoff Market Rating: 3.5.