The Precious metals sector has been climbing back in recent weeks after Gold stumbled to $1,157 as the Euro has now climbed to a 3 month high against the USD trading at $1.3300.  Gold is now back above $1,200 but there is still some resistance here at the $1,210-$1,215 level.  Silver is now back above $18 as well and looks to head to the tough resistnace of $19.  The market will get some key news tomorrow as Ben Bernanke speaks and this will have a big effect on the Gold price.  It feels like the Gold market wants to retest the highs again, so for now its just wait and see.

Gold gets to $1,200 on the rising fear factor as Europe continues its tumultuous slide as riots start to brreak out heavily in Greece.  Gold is starting to become the worlds reserve currency as the correlation between Gold and the USD becomes obsolete for the moment.  Gold  has a top here at $1,225 and i think for the moment that you will see some resistance at this level between there and $1,210.  The Eurozone however seem to be in desperate times so stay on top of the news over there to see if there are any big bailouts coming that way.  This will surely have a negative effect on the Gold market

Gold has recently climbed to test the triple top of $1,150 that has been a big hindrance to the yellow metal even as the USD strengthens up against other major currencies.  Gold needs to break above the $1,160 level to test the all time high and I think that you will see this later on in the year.  Right now the big hurdle is right in its path so watch for the next few days as this market tries to bust through this level.

Copper has had some significant resistance up at the $3.50 level failing three times there now and once falling all the way down to $2.80.  Even after the Earthquake in Chile (One of the main Copper markets in the world) the base metal, although +20 cents to $3.48 could not break the $3.50 level.  If an 8.8 earthqauke cannot rally this market passed that level than I do not see anything breaking this level just yet.  The MACD and slow stochastics looks to be pointg downward on the daily chart and this means of lower prices to come.

Here is a good article that i found from Bloomberg stating Greeces credit rating might be lowered and the Euro losing ground against the USD and the Euro to new yearly lows…… This will have a huge impact on the precious metals markets….

“The euro fell toward a one-year low against the yen on speculation Greece’s credit rating will be downgraded as the country struggles to push through fiscal cuts demanded by the European Union.

Europe’s single currency also dropped toward a nine-month low against the dollar after Standard & Poor’s said it may cut Greece’s rating again by the end of March as a weak economy and political opposition threaten the nation’s ability to reduce the EU’s largest budget deficit. The dollar gained against 15 of its 16 major counterparts before a report today forecast to show U.S. durable goods orders increased.

“There are concerns that Greece may not be rescued,” said Satoshi Okagawa, head of the foreign-exchange forward trading group at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. in Tokyo. “This is causing selling of the euro and buying of the yen, and leading to risk aversion.”

The euro dropped to 121.10 yen as of 11:09 a.m. in Tokyo from 122.03 yen in New York yesterday. It fell to 120.71 yen on Feb. 5, the lowest since Feb. 24, 2009.

The 16-nation euro declined to $1.3494 from $1.3538. It touched $1.3444 on Feb. 19, the lowest since May 18. The European currency has fallen 2.6 percent versus the dollar this month, heading for a third monthly loss, its longest stretch since November 2008. The dollar fell to 89.75 yen from 90.15 yen.

The cost of protecting against default on Greek government bonds increased 13 basis points to 384 yesterday, according to CMA DataVision prices.

Rating Downgrade

“We believe that a further downgrade of Greece of one to two notches is possible within a month,” S&P analysts led by Marko Mrsnik in London said in a statement released late yesterday.

S&P cut Greece’s rating twice in December to BBB+ and signaled at the time it may lower it again. Greece has struggled to persuade investors it can slash its budget deficit from last year’s 12.7 percent of gross domestic product.

“I’m not sure if other nations have enough resources to help Greece,” said Tsutomu Soma, a bond and currency dealer at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo. “If the issue is neglected, that will stoke concerns about the euro. The dollar remains strong against the euro on a relative basis.”

Bookings for durable goods in the U.S. climbed 1.5 percent last month after rising 0.3 percent in December, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey before the Commerce Department reports the data today. ”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601083&sid=ar1hGOR.9mw4

Gold liquidated some $75 last week to $1,045 as the Euro/USD gained momentum with Greece’s inability to their pay debt.  The $1,070 did hold very well but ultimately the selling pressure was to much and thats when you had it sel right to $1,045 with many sell stops being activated below $1,070.  Now the next support is this $1,035 level and I believe you will see some buyers at that level.

The gold market has sold off in recent weeks as the USD takes a serious charge against other currencies to liquidate the market from $1,158 to $1,085.  There is a huge support level at $1,070 and this should be used to bottom feed the market if it gets backj down there.  looks like the Euro/USD has found a bit of a bottom at $1.40 so that should help steady the price of the Gold market for now.  It is amazing that Gold hasn’t sold off more on the move in the Euro/USD from $1.52 to $1.40.  Gold is only down $120  or 6% in that time.

Gold has now regained the form it saw in 2009 to start the year off with a $80 rally from $1,070 to $1,150 as the USD weakens against a basket of other major currencies.  The USD had gained momentum heading into 2010 but has lost some steam with the Euro/USD trading from $1.42 to $1.45 increasing the appeal for the precious metals markets.  Silver is actually outperforming Gold here as this market trades up to a high of $18.70.  This market couldn’t get passed the $18.50 market last year but so far has been doing quite well now looking to head to $19.  It seems that the sell off to end 2009 was a huge buying opportunity for some investors and now is looking back to form in the new year.

While everyone was enjoying their Thanksgiving Day, there was some big news impacting the financial world as the Dubai Govt has asked investors to extend the maturity of upcoming debt amortizations of two of its state-owned companies, Dubai World and its real estate development arm Nakheel,until 30 May 2010. Subsequently, the Dubai government has authorized Dubai Financial Support Fund to “restructure Dubai World with immediate effect”.  Technically, this does not constitute a sovereign default, since there are no sovereign guarantees on Dubai World and its subsidiaries; in fact, the government issued a decree earlier this year stating that it will not underwrite liabilities of Dubai World. But it was the government rather than the company that announced the stand still over the holioday, and investors can be forgiven for regarding the finances of the emirate and of its wholly-owned subsidiaries as not clearly distinguishable.  This did have an impact on the USD as investors rushed in to the oversold market and took risk off of commodities sending oil lower by -$5.00 at one point and Gold down -$50 respectively.  The market has quickly regained the momentum as the United Arab Emirates’ central bank said it would back the country’s lenders from a possible default by Dubai World, easing concerns of an economic slowdown.  This remains to be seen as either a temporary fix or if there are actual big-time problems with Dubai and it’s liquidity.  For now the markets like the news from the UAE and commodities are rebounding.

Gold is reaching $1,180/oz on the Comex exchange as the USD keeps losing steam against other major currencies.  The Euro/USD is reaching that all amiportant triple top of $1.5050 so it will be interesting to see what Gold will do when the Dollar gets there again.