(Kitco News) – Gold prices ended the U.S. day session down and hit a six-week low Monday. Silver prices were just slightly lower but dropped to a seven-week low early on today. The appreciating U.S. dollar on the foreign exchange market and little risk aversion in the marketplace at present are bearish elements for the gold and silver markets. December Comex gold was last down $8.10 an ounce at $1,276.60. December Comex silver prices were last down $0.011 at $16.665 an ounce.
It was a very somber mood among U.S. traders and investors Monday. A shooting spree in Las Vegas late Sunday that left over 50 people dead and over 500 wounded was the worst shooting spree in modern U.S. history. The attack is not believed to be a terrorist event and did not impact the markets.
World stock markets were mostly firmer Monday. U.S. stock indexes were mixed in early afternoon trading. The S&P 500 index scored another record high Monday, to accentuate the upbeat trader/investor risk attitudes at present.
The war of words between the U.S. and North Korea flared up again over the weekend. After the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson suggested there is some dialogue taking place with North Korea regarding its nuclear missiles, President Trump then tweeted “save your energy Rex.” So far, the world markets are not reacting strongly to the weekend developments on the geopolitical front.
In other overnight news, the Spanish referendum on Catalonia splitting from Spain passed easily. This put more downside pressure on the Euro currency.
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