Gold Needs to Hold $1,200 Then $1,230 Could Be the Next Stop

Gold is trading just below the key $1,200 level, following a volatile week in the complex. Eric Zuccarelli, independent metals trader on the trading floor of the NYMEX, tells TheStreet’s Jill Malandrino the surprise Chinese rate cut last week got a lot of the volatility out of the market and he does not expect as much action during the shortened holiday week. While gold has not consolidated over $1,200, it seems as if traders are not too aggressive about taking it lower either. Zuccarelli says economic data in the U.S. has been a mixed bag, but with the weakness in foreign currency it leads him to believe gold has a little more room to the upside. If gold closes over $1,200 and can stay there, Zuccarelli would be looking around the $1,230 level as the next area of major resistance. Finally, March is the active month for copper and there has been some pullback there, possibly lending to the Chinese interest rate cut and demand slowdown.