US Gold Futures Rallied, Finishing Over Key 1300 Mark

LONDON (Aug 8) US Gold future prices rallied early in the session finishing pit trade with solid  gains Thursday. Gold and Silver saw heavy short-covering following selling pressure  seen earlier this week, with some bargain hunting in the mix.

The weaken US Dollar Index Thursday was supportive for precious metals.

Chinese economic data released Thursday was also Bullish for the market, especially for the raw commodity sector. China exports were up a much higher than expected 5.1% year-on-year in  July, compared to a 3.1% drop in June. Chinese imports rose by a much higher  than expected 11%, Y-Y.

December gold was last + 23.80 at 1,309.10 oz.

Spot Gold was last quoted + 22.70 at 1,310.50 oz.

Sept Comex  Silver last traded +0.667 at $20.175 an ounce.

Gold and Silver Bulls had a good day Thursday, but have to do in the  near-term from a technical POV.

In other news Thursday, the  European Central Bank (ECB) released a forecast Thursday that shows it expects EuroZone economic growth to contract by 0.6% in 2013, citing weak consumer demand  worldwide. The ECB forecast EuroZone growth in Y 2014 at up 0.9%. The ECB report  comes out at a time when recent Euro zone economic data has shown generally  slight improvement.

The US Dollar Index was  weaker Thursday and hit another 7 wk low overnight. The “Greenback” Bears have the overall near-term advantage, which is an underlying  Bullish factor for precious metals. Meantime,

Nymex Crude Oil  futures prices were lower Thursday. The Crude Oil Bulls faded this week and a Bearish double-top reversal pattern has formed on the daily chart.