Gold was little changed just below a near-two-week high on Thursday, as the dollar firmed and traders awaited minutes of the last Federal Reserve policy meeting for clues about the timing of a U.S. rate hike. The return of top consumer China from a week-long holiday could also lend support to prices on Thursday. A softer dollar would make gold cheaper for holders of other currencies, while a delay in rate hike could also support non-interest-paying bullion.  Gold has benefited in recent years from ultra-low rates, which cut the opportunity cost of holding the metal.

Copper prices have slumped almost 10% in the third quarter of the current year. The prices have fallen almost 20% from the start of the year. But the worse is not yet over for the metal. The investment bank predicts further sell-off in copper during the last quarter of the year. According to Barclays, copper prices are likely to average at $4,850 per tonne during the final quarter of the year. The rise in copper production is likely to aggravate the surplus situation, which may accelerate the price fall. Barclay’s forecasts copper market surplus at 380 kilotons’ at end-2015.

ENERGY NEWS

Crude oil futures rose in early Asian trade on Thursday, shrugging off a surprise build in U.S. inventories as some Chinese traders returned following a weeklong National Day holiday period. Another concern lingering on investors’ minds is whether the global economy is experiencing a downturn. Those fears were stoked by a report from the IMF that China’s slowdown and tumbling commodity prices will push global economic growth this year to the lowest level since the 2009 recession. The IMF expects Chinese economic growth to drop to a 25-year low of 6.8 percent this year, unchanged from its July forecast.

CS GOLD (DECEMBER) OVERVIEW:

TREND : BEARISH
RESIST 2: 26850
RESIST 1: 26730
SUP 1: 26370
SUP 2: 26200