- Gold price trades with a positive bias for the second straight day, albeit lacks follow-through.
- A positive risk tone caps gains for the metal amid the uncertainty over the Fed’s rate-hike path.
- Traders now look to the crucial US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for some meaningful impetus.
Gold price (XAU/USD) attracts some buyers for the second successive day on Friday and sticks to its modest intraday gains heading into the European session. Bets that the Federal Reserve (Fed) is nearing the end of its policy-tightening campaign and start cutting rates in June 2024 keep the US Dollar (USD) bulls on the defensive. This, along with unrest in the Middle East and concerns about a slowdown in the Chinese economy, acts as a tailwind for the safe-haven precious metal.
The intraday uptick, however, lacks bullish conviction, with the Gold price remaining below the $2,000 psychological mark in the wake of a generally positive tone around the equity markets. Investors also seem reluctant to place aggressive bets and prefer to wait on the sidelines ahead of the monthly employment details from the United States (US). The popularly known NFP report could provide cues about the Fed’s rate-hike path and provide a fresh directional impetus to the XAU/USD.
Daily Digest Market Movers: Gold price extends its sideways consolidative price move on Friday
- Gold price oscillates in a familiar trading band held over the past three days, awaiting a fresh catalyst before the next leg of a directional move.
- Bets that the Federal Reserve will not hike rates any further led to the recent fall in the US Treasury bond yields and undermined the US Dollar.
- The US economic resilience and still sticky inflation keep the door open for one more Fed rate hike move either in December 2023 or January 2024.
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that some slowing in the labor market will likely need to happen in order for inflation to continue its downward trajectory.
- Hence, the US monthly jobs data, or the NFP report, might influence the Fed’s next policy move and provide some meaningful impetus to the XAU/USD.
- The US economy likely added 180K jobs in October, down from the 336K in the previous month, and the jobless rate is seen holding steady at 3.8%.
- Any meaningful divergence from expected numbers is likely to infuse volatility in the financial markets and drive demand for the safe-haven metal.
- The Middle East conflict and China’s economic woes should continue to act as a tailwind for the commodity, despite a generally positive risk tone.
Technical Analysis: Gold price needs to move back above the $2,000 mark to lure buyers
From a technical perspective, nothing seems to have changed much for the Gold price and any subsequent move up is more likely to confront stiff resistance near the $2,000 mark. The next relevant hurdle is pegged near the $2,008-2,010 area, or the multi-month peak touched last Friday. Bulls need to wait for a sustained strength beyond the said barrier before positioning for a move towards the next relevant barrier near the $2,022 region.
On the flip side, the $1,980 region now seems to protect the immediate downside ahead of the weekly low, around the $1,970 level set on Wednesday. Some follow-through selling might expose the $1,964 intermediate support before the Gold price eventually drops to the $1,954-1,953 region.
US Dollar price this week
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the weakest against the New Zealand Dollar.
| | USD | EUR | GBP | CAD | AUD | JPY | NZD | CHF |
| USD | | -0.59% | -0.70% | -0.90% | -1.43% | 0.42% | -1.51% | 0.40% |
| EUR | 0.58% | | -0.11% | -0.31% | -0.84% | 1.00% | -0.93% | 0.97% |
| GBP | 0.70% | 0.12% | | -0.23% | -0.74% | 1.12% | -0.82% | 1.09% |
| CAD | 0.92% | 0.30% | 0.20% | | -0.52% | 1.30% | -0.61% | 1.28% |
| AUD | 1.39% | 0.85% | 0.73% | 0.51% | | 1.83% | -0.08% | 1.82% |
| JPY | -0.42% | -1.00% | -1.05% | -1.35% | -1.87% | | -1.95% | -0.02% |
| NZD | 1.50% | 0.91% | 0.80% | 0.61% | 0.08% | 1.90% | | 1.88% |
| CHF | -0.40% | -0.99% | -1.10% | -1.30% | -1.83% | 0.02% | -1.92% | |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/JPY (quote).