“Silver, it’s battling. It’s a heck of a battle down here against 16 bucks,” said Bill Baruch, president of Blue Line Futures. Silver has recently come out of a net short position, according to the Commitment of Traders Report, and is now in a net long position. This means that gold, and not silver, is due to be the leader to the upside, Baruch told Kitco News. “[Silver] is very constructive around $16 [an ounce], I think it will follow gold higher. One thing I am worried about with silver is are you going to see some of the base metals, like copper, which lost 20 cents over the last two weeks…is that going to hold silver back on that rip when gold makes it,” Baruch said.
On gold, Baruch said that major currency headwinds have been keeping gold under pressure, despite the prospect of a global trade war breaking out. In particular, the dollar has strengthened on the back of a weakened euro and Chinese renminbi. “You’ve got to keep an eye on these currencies,” he said, “I think gold will find its path higher, it will take a little bit of time as we work through this trade war, and what China’s going to do with their currency upon this war.” Baruch said that gold investors should consider buying put spreads to protect the down side and selling calls against long futures. “My belief here is that you’re going to see $1,300 retested in the next 30 to 60 days,” he added.
