January 08, 2018 -- The rally in precious metals continued in the first week of 2018, with prices moving higher across the board. Metals showed strength despite another 2.2% increase in the S&P 500 equity index and a relatively flat performance for the U.S. dollar.

There may be some optimism building around gold and silver prices independent of what other markets are doing. The price charts are looking better for sure. It will get more interesting if gold can best its September high of $1,350 and silver can retake $18.55/oz, the white metal's high water mark set in April of last year.

Open interest is back on the rise for both gold and silver as speculators return to the futures markets.

The number of open gold and silver contracts is still well below the recent highs, but there was a big jump in last week's report. For now, it appears there is room for prices to run higher before the bullion banks attempt a rinse cycle and profit from the short positions they are currently building.



Check out live precious metals charts here:
https://goo.gl/jCd5h8