Gold and silver traders buy early dips amid bullish technicals, fundamentals

new York (Feb 23)  Gold and silver prices are firmer in midday U.S. trading Wednesday, as bullish traders stepped in to buy the early price declines. Gold prices Tuesday hit an eight-month high and silver today notched a four-week high. Risk aversion is still elevated at mid-week, and that's also supportive for the safe-haven metals markets. April gold futures were last up $3.50 at $1,911.00 and March Comex silver was last up $0.234 at $24.535 an ounce.

On the front burner of the marketplace remains the Russian incursion into Ukraine. The U.S. and other nations have slapped sanctions on Russia, but it appears the West has no intention of military action against Russia. That has somewhat assuaged the marketplace, for now. It's still a dicey situation, as a military mistake by either side could significantly escalate the conflict. The major question on traders' and investors' minds is whether the uncertainty/anxiety factor has peaked, from a markets perspective. Remember that markets many times overreact to major geopolitical events in the early stages of those events. Traders tend to factor into market prices a worst-case scenario, only to see that scenario typically not occur. Still, in this particular geopolitical situation another major "shoe could drop," such as a full-blown Russia invasion of Ukraine, to further destabilize markets

KITCO