By Barry Stuppler – MintStateGold.com
GOLD
With gold trading at $1,726.50 today at 11am PDT, we end the month with a $104.20 per ounce increase.
Gold is down $19 on the day, and showed excellent support in the $1,715 area this early this morning as Japan intervened in the currency markets, which caused the U.S. dollar to rally sharply.
Today, UBS Banking reiterated it’s $2,200 per ounce target for gold in the next 12 months.
With Federal Reserve’s policymaking committee meetings set for tomorrow and Wednesday, we could see increase volatility in the precious metal, currency and equity markets soon.
SILVER
With silver trading at $34.60 per ounce at 11am PDT today, we have seen a $4.58 increase for the month and a $0.65 decrease since Friday. Silver breaking above the important $33.00 per ounce resistance level and staying in a $33 to $35 per ounce trading range for a couple weeks would be bullish for the short term, however, Silver is taking its price direction from Gold and may move higher sooner.
China reduced export quotas for silver according to a statement on the Ministry of Commerce’s Web site today. The country may export a maximum of 5,387 metric tons of silver next year, lowering shipment by 5%, compared with 5,670 tons this year