Gold, Silver Prices Take a Break

Gold and silver prices were taking a breather Wednesday after technical trading drove the metals through key resistance areas.

Gold for April delivery was losing $2.80 to $1,361.30 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gold price Wednesday has traded as high as $1,367.70 and as low as $1,358.30. The spot gold price was down $1.70, according to Kitco's gold index.

Silver prices were retreating somewhat, down 15 cents to $30.11 after the metal settled Tuesday $1 off its recent intraday high of $31.27 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar index was tentatively lower at $77.81 while the euro was up slightly at $1.36 vs. the dollar. Gold prices were up 0.41% in the Chinese yuan a day after the country's central bank hiked interest rates by 25 basis points.

The hike left the one-year deposit rate at 3% vs. the 4.6% inflation rate meaning that money kept in the bank will still lose value prompting citizens to store their cash elsewhere, like gold. The central bank is expected to continue to take steps to fight inflation but the steps will be mild, at best.

Brazil could be the next emerging market to raise rates after reporting that inflation in January was 5.99% vs. a year earlier. Its benchmark rate is already 11.25%. Gold prices were down 0.26% in the Brazilian real.