The futures breached a midpoint support by two cents, implying more weakness to come, but the surprisingly sharp reversal that followed looked more like Silver wanted to fly. A recalcitrant Gold appeared to restrain the impulse, however, and the September contract ended the day in a holding pattern that left it unchanged since last Thursday. On balance, my bias is negative for the short-term, with jeopardy down to as low as 17.160 if the futures should close below 17.635.  Alternatively, a thrust today exceeding 17.935 would offer the first hint of incipient strength.