Gold futures prices are trading firmer and near the daily high in late-morning price action Monday. Short covering in the futures market and bargain hunting in the spot market are featured. The U.S. dollar index has backed down from its session high, which is also a bullish daily factor for the precious metals. The near-term technical postures for gold and silver have also improved just slightly, which may be prompting some mild chart-based buying in both markets. December gold was last up $5.10 an ounce at $1,099.00.
