Technical Levels

Commodity Contract S3 S2 S1 R1 R2 R3

Gold recovered today after yesterday's rout as equities dipped amid concerns over continued US government shutdown. The metal opened at 1297.50/1298.50, dipped slightly to a low of 1297.00/1298.00 early on, before advancing to a high of 1323.50/1324.50 by mid-morning. Price traded around this level for the remainder of the session, closing at 1320.00/1321.00. Gold traded higher today, closing at 1320 after yesterday's weak close. Key support is at the 1273 low from August 7. Resistance is at the recent high of 1354.

Gold dropped after U.S. Congress failed to reach an agreement on a budget for the next fiscal year, leading to the first government shutdown in 17 years. The U.S. government began a partial shutdown after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on a new budget before Monday's midnight deadline. SPDR Gold Trust said its holdings fell 0.46 percent, or 4.2 tonnes, to 901.79 tonnes.

After trading sideways overnight, silver opened today at the session low of 21.25/21.30. Price traded higher to peak at 22.00/22.05 on weak private payroll growth and the continued standoff in the US government. The metal then retreated from its high, closing the day at 21.88/21.93. Silver also traded higher, closing at 21.88 and erasing yesterday's losses. Interim support is at yesterday's low at 20.62. There is resistance in the low-22 area which has been a congestion area since mid-September, and which was previously a big support level from April to June.

 Yesterday we warned of a potential bearish move in the gold-silver ratio, and this was confirmed today with a close lower at 60.45. The lower close is a sell signal, targeting 58.70, the last major low (from September 19). Resistance is at yesterday's high at 62.37. Silver dropped as investors viewed metal as less profitable due to improving data and sentiments that a U.S. government shutdown will be short lived. Prices fell due to technical factors as investors saw little to support the precious metal going forward. Market talk continued to persist that Fed will keep its monthly bond-buying program in place to offset any damage the shutdown may inflict on recovery.

COPPER
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for December delivery traded at USD3.278 a pound during European morning trade, up 0.1%. Copper prices traded in a range between USD3.249 a pound, the daily low and a session high of USD3.282 a pound. The December contract settled 1.5% lower at USD3.274 a pound on Tuesday.

Copper prices were likely to find support at USD3.249 a pound, Tuesday's low and the weakest level since September 24 and resistance at USD3.337 a pound, Tuesday's high. Copper futures swung between small gains and losses on Wednesday, amid concerns a partial shutdown of the U.S. government will create a drag on fourth quarter U.S. economic growth. Copper edged lower as investors digested disappointing manufacturing data out of China and after U.S. lawmakers missed a deadline to avert a government shutdown. China data showed that the nation's official manufacturing PMI inched up to 51.1 in September from 51.0 in August. Some investors however were worried about the longer-term prospects for the metal, due to a looming supply surplus.

CRUDE 
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for November delivery fell 0.34% to USD103.75 per barrel in Asian trading Thursday. The November contract settle higher by 2.02% at USD104.10 per barrel on Wednesday. The crude oil inventories release showed an increase of 5.5 million barrels for the week ending September 27. This was higher than the consensus of a 2.3 million increase in the number of barrels, reflecting a downturn in consumption. The total number of crude oil inventories in the US was at 363.7 million barrels that week.

In US economic news, the government shutdown carried on for its second day in a row as President Obama refused to budge until a good budget deal is struck. Oil futures traded lower during Thursday's Asian session on some profit-taking following a stellar performance during Wednesday's U.S. session that saw crude soar on news of a potential drop in supply. Energy company TransCanada revealed that it would not be able to finish its work on a part of the Keystone pipeline this October. Crude dropped amid concerns a partial shutdown of the U.S. government will create a drag on fourth quarter U.S. economic growth. Oil has come under downward pressure in the past month as supply has improved, with Libya ramping up output and tensions easing over Syria. U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 5.5 million barrels.