|premium|

Chart of the Week: Gold price reaches a wall of resistance

  • XAU/USD has been in the hands of the bulls as fundamentals ripen. 
  • The charts, on the other hand, may paint a different picture, at least in the meantime. 

Gold positions have got longer in both the futures and spot markets as the rate environment has become more favourable to the yellow metal as US nominal rates have started to trend lower which points to additional upward price pressure for XAU/USD. This means we should see additional short covering and new longs in the coming weeks.

A disappointing Nonfarm Payrolls report which has featured higher-than-expected wage increases and unemployment rates will likely see gold challenge technical resistance near $1,850/oz in the coming days or weeks.

This brings us to the charts. 

The following is a top-down analysis that illustrates the structure of the market across the main time frames.

Monthly chart

While the fundamental bias is to the upside, the monthly chart still has some work to do before a convincing technical bullish case can be made.

The correction of the last bearish impulse is still too shallow at a 50% mean reversion. 

Weekly chart

The weekly chart shows that the impulse has made a -272% Fibonacci retracement of the prior bullish impulse as it takes on resistance. 

Daily chart

Meanwhile, there is scope for a deeper retracement on the daily chart to test the 38.2% Fibo of the prior daily impulse.

However, the bullish close is compelling, which leaves an upside continuation deeper into the supply zone on the cards for the opening session.

Premium

You have reached your limit of 3 free articles for this month.

Start your subscription and get access to all our original articles.

Subscribe to PremiumSign In

Author

Ross J Burland

Ross J Burland, born in England, UK, is a sportsman at heart. He played Rugby and Judo for his county, Kent and the South East of England Rugby team.

More from Ross J Burland
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD hits two-day highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD picks up pace and reaches two-day tops around 1.1820 at the end of the week. The pair’s move higher comes on the back of renewed weakness in the US Dollar amid growing talk that the Fed could deliver an interest rate cut as early as March. On the docket, the flash US Consumer Sentiment improves to 57.3 in February.

GBP/USD reclaims 1.3600 and above

GBP/USD reverses two straight days of losses, surpassing the key 1.3600 yardstick on Friday. Cable’s rebound comes as the Greenback slips away from two-week highs in response to some profit-taking mood and speculation of Fed rate cuts. In addition, hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill are also collaborating with the quid’s improvement.

Gold climbs further, focus is back to 45,000

Gold regains upside traction and surpasses the $4,900 mark per troy ounce at the end of the week, shifting its attention to the critical $5,000 region. The move reflects a shift in risk sentiment, driving flows back towards traditional safe haven assets and supporting the yellow metal.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP rebound amid risk-off, $2.6 billion liquidation wave

Bitcoin edges up above $65,000 at the time of writing on Friday, as dust from the recent macro-triggered sell-off settles. The leading altcoin, Ethereum, hovers above $1,900, but resistance at $2,000 caps the upside. Meanwhile, Ripple has recorded the largest intraday jump among the three assets, up over 10% to $1.35.

Three scenarios for Japanese Yen ahead of snap election

The latest polls point to a dominant win for the ruling bloc at the upcoming Japanese snap election. The larger Sanae Takaichi’s mandate, the more investors fear faster implementation of tax cuts and spending plans. 

XRP rally extends as modest ETF inflows support recovery

Ripple is accelerating its recovery, trading above $1.36 at the time of writing on Friday, as investors adjust their positions following a turbulent week in the broader crypto market. The remittance token is up over 21% from its intraday low of $1.12.