Gold Hits New Record High above $1,600.00; Silver Pushes Above $40.00

August Comex gold futures on Monday hit another new all-time record high of $1,604.50 an ounce, as of this writing. Since scoring a fresh six-week low of $1,478.30 on July 1, gold futures prices have rallied by more than $120.00 an ounce. The main bullish fundamental inputs for safe-haven gold have been the ongoing European Union sovereign-debt crisis, and most recently heightened concerns the U.S. debt problem is not going to be effectively dealt with by the U.S. government.

From a technical perspective the gold market remains longer-term bullish and the bulls have recently regained fresh upside near-term technical momentum. There are no early technical clues to suggest a market top is in place for gold, and at present the path of least resistance for prices remains sideways to higher until near-term technicals suggest otherwise. The fact that prices Monday pushed above what was psychological resistance at $1,600.00 an ounce suggests more price gains in the near term.

Longer-term charts show that Comex gold futures prices are in a 10-year-old uptrend, from the 2001 low of $255.00 an ounce.

Gold bulls' next near-term upside technical objective is to produce a close above technical resistance at $1,625.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is closing prices below solid technical support at the June high of $1,559.30. First resistance is seen at the overnight record high of $1,610.00 and then at $1,615.00. First support is seen at the overnight low of $1,591.40 and then at $1,580.00.