Excitement hits the precious metals market this morning as gold climbs from 1185

Excitement hits the precious metals market this morning as gold climbs from 1185 before 10 am to set the LBMA PM gold price at 1200-. This was preceded by silver making an upward move that may have been perceived to be directed by the poor Markit Services PMI report which missed the mark 1.2 coming in at 57.8, and right fully so indicating that Friday’s Durable Goods report though mixed may be showing signs of weakness. Yet a report by Reuters Friday announces a $1bn gold swap between Venezuela and Citibank which to many traders may be where the unending pressure on the gold market may have been coming from. With that report in tow traders may have felt that the news allows them to change direction and put on new longs. The upward move of course triggers stops making the precious metals  climb higher on the move. Today’s settlement prices on the metals are important to clarify whether this is a short term blip or a new trend to the upside is developing. This week’s news to watch for are the FOMC report and Gross Domestic Product both out on Wednesday.