Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD under pressure around $2,325.00

XAU/USD Current price: $2,325.17

• United States job openings contracted by more than anticipated in April.
• Treasury yields edged further lower while US indexes also shed ground.
• XAU/USD could accelerate its slide once below $2,314.63, the weekly low.

Demand for the US Dollar returned on Tuesday, with risk-off flows moving away from Gold. XAU/USD trades around $2,325, down for the day. Tepid United States (US) growth-related data undermined demand for the American currency on Monday, pushing the pair towards a weekly high of $2.354.60, but speculative interest gave up as the mood deteriorated further early in Asia, extending after Wall Street’s opening.

The US published the first of several employment figures ahead of the monthly Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report scheduled for Friday. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed the number of job openings on the last business day of April stood at 8.059 million, easing from a previously revised 8.35 million and missing expectations of 8.34 million. The Greenback initially fell with the news but quickly changed course as the US also published an upbeat Factory Orders figure, up 0.7% in April vs the 0.6% anticipated by market participants.

Government bonds surged, sending yields even lower from their recent peaks, although stock markets are unable to lift their heads. The three major US indexes trade in the red, albeit losses are modest.

XAU/USD short-term technical outlook

From a technical point of view, XAU/USD is poised to extend its slide. The daily chart shows it retreated from near a mildly bullish 20 Simple Moving Average (SMA) for the fourth consecutive day. Furthermore, technical indicators extended their slides within negative territory, maintaining their firmly downward slopes. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the 100 and 200 SMA retain their bullish slopes far below the current level, limiting the bearish potential in the long term.

In the near term, and according to the 4-hour chart, the bearish case is even clearer. XAU/USD has fallen below all its moving averages, which anyway remain directionless. Furthermore, a pullback was contained by the 20 SMA, currently at around 2,339.10. At the same time, technical indicators head firmly lower well below their midlines, in line with another leg south should the pair break below the weekly low at 2,314.63

Support levels: 2,314.60 2,305.30 2,289.70

Resistance levels: 2,339.10 2,355.50 2,364.00