Gold and silver posted strong losses Tuesday, and in late New York trading saw gold down over $115, basis Comex October futures. Meantime, silver was down over $4.25. The major question gold and silver traders are asking is, “Was Tuesday’s price action a signal that both markets have put in major tops?” Nobody knows the answer to that key question, but there are powerful technical tools that a trader can use to try to determine if and when the metals have or have not topped out. This 35-year market watcher thinks that today’s big drops in gold and silver prices are, so far, just big downside corrections in still-strong price uptrends on the charts. Price trend is the most powerful technical trading tool on the planet. Most successful traders will tell you that. “The trend is your friend” is a tried and true trading adage that profitable traders have espoused for over 100 years. Trading the rest of this week will be extra critical for both gold and silver markets. How the markets close on Friday will be very telling. If gold and silver futures prices close on Friday at or near their weekly lows, then such would be a significant early clue these markets have put in at least near-term tops. If the markets can recover over the next few days and finish the week well off of their weekly lows, bulls could be back in business soon.