August 26, 2016 -- The bad news for silver bulls this week is that the near-term trend has turned down. The good news is that the longer term uptrend that commenced off the January bottom appears to be intact.

Silver and gold markets tend to be thinly traded in late summer and are often more vulnerable to attacks by short sellers. Investors are also being distracted by non-stop election coverage in the media, including the financial media.

Meanwhile, interest-rate analysts are seeming to obsess about every word that comes out of Janet Yellen’s mouth. In fact, the Fed chair delivers remarks to the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole confab today.

There is now virtually no chance of a rate hike before the election. But Fed watchers seem to think there is about a 50/50 chance of a rate hike in December. However, other analysts are expecting post-election turmoil in financial markets -- and following that, a move by the Fed to CUT rates.

Live prices at MoneyMetals.com show gold currently trading at $1,329.05 per ounce on the global market, and silver is coming in at $18.78.