The risk-on wave across broader markets is helping to see a strong bounce in precious metals today. That as hope springs eternal after the US and Iran agrees to a two-week ceasefire in trying to work out a more lasting peace in the region.
Typically, fading geopolitical tensions tend to be a negative for the likes of gold and silver. However, this whole episode has been a bit of a reverse. As explained before, gold and silver positioning consisted largely of leveraged trades before the US-Iran conflict started. It was the risky of all risky bets.
So the negative drag from the conflict led to leveraged selling as both equities and bonds were heavily liquidated. Think from the perspective of big funds needing to meet margin calls, while trying to ride out the storm until it passes.
Hence, the rebound here ties to the fact that market sentiment is picking up and the positive news also means that perhaps major central banks may not need be overly aggressive in pivoting to interest rate hikes. That is also one helpful factor benefiting precious metals in the rebound.
The technical chart is getting quite interesting as well for silver at the moment. The precious metal is seeing a solid bounce today and is now creeping above its 100-day moving average (red line). The key level is seen at $76.11 currently. So, hold above that and buyers will be able to establish a platform in chasing a renewed upside leg. But keep below that, and sellers will still have a spot to lean on in trying to keep the pressure up.
So, that’s the key line in the sand to watch as market sentiment also looks to turn around. If the positive mood keeps up, the push above the key technical line above will be a good tailwind for silver prices to jump further in coming up for air. So, just watch out for that.
But for the time being, it all hinges on US-Iran developments and further headline risks. And as mentioned earlier here, this ceasefire interpretation might not be that straightforward.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.
