Gold climbs to near 1-month tops, above $1230 level

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

• USD weakens across the board on US-China trade truce and helped regain traction.
• Bullish traders seemed rather unaffected by a fresh wave of the global risk-on trade.
• Fed rate hike expectations fail to hinder the momentum ahead of US data/Fedspeaks.

Gold regained positive traction at the start of a new trading week and climbed to near one-month tops, just above the $1230 supply zone in the last hour.

The US Dollar weakened across the board on news that the US and China agreed not to impose additional trade tariffs for at least 90 days and was seen as one of the key factors benefitting the dollar-denominated commodity.

Meanwhile, bullish traders seemed rather unaffected by the prevalent risk-on mood, evident from strong gains across global equity markets, with the USD price dynamics turning out to be an exclusive driver of the precious metal's up-move.

It would now be interesting to see if the commodity is able to build on the positive momentum or runs out of steam at higher levels amid prospects for a gradual Fed monetary policy tightening cycle, which tends to drive flows away from the non-yielding yellow metal.

Moving ahead, today's speeches from influential FOMC members, along with the release of US ISM manufacturing PMI, a key highlight from today's US economic docket, will now be looked upon for some fresh impetus later during the early North-American session.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate resistance is now pegged near the $1235 level, above which the commodity is likely to accelerate the up-move further towards Nov. monthly swing highs, around the $1243-44 region. On the flip side, the $1227 horizontal zone now seems to act as an immediate support, which if broken might accelerate the fall back towards the $1221-20 region (daily lows).

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

USD/JPY eyes August swing low, near 155.20 ahead of US NFP

USD/JPY retests the August monthly swing low during the Asian session on Friday as a more hawkish repricing of BoJ rate-hike bets and a suspected intervention continue to underpin the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the US Dollar is seen consolidating the previous day's heavy losses amid soft US bond yields, further weighing on the currency pair as traders keenly await the US NFP report.

AUD/USD consolidates above 0.7200; US NFP awaited

AUD/USD holds steady above 0.7200, near its highest level since mid-May, as bulls await the US NFP report for more cues on the Fed's policy path before placing fresh bets. Meanwhile, the recent decline in US bond yields keeps the US Dollar depressed near its lowest level in over a week and acts as a tailwind for the Aussie amid the RBA's hawkish tilt.

Gold bulls seem hesitant below $4,500 amid modest USD bounce ahead of US NFP

Gold remains on the defensive below the $4,500 mark through the Asian session, snapping a two-day winning streak amid a modest US Dollar uptick. The commodity, however, remains close to the weekly high, which it touched the previous day, as traders keenly await the release of the closely watched US monthly employment details. The popularly known US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report will provide more cues about the Fed's policy path amid receding bets of a September rate hike.

Crypto’s $638 million buyback boom may not be as bullish as it looks

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols reportedly spent $638 million to buy back their native tokens in August, up 17% from a year earlier. On the surface, the buyback trend suggests the cryptocurrency industry is maturing fast, adopting one of Wall Street’s oldest tools to bolster valuations and distribute revenue. The headline becomes less impressive once the number is opened up.

US August Nonfarm Payrolls expected to rebound to 56K after July slump

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is set to release the Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for August. Investors expect NFP to rise by 56K in August following July’s unexpected print of -23K.

Diesel’s record $100 warning: The oil shock hiding in plain sight

The Oil market may look calmer than it did a few months ago, but diesel is sending a very different message. The US diesel crack spread, the premium of ultra-low sulphur diesel futures over WTI, recently surged above $100 per barrel for the first time, reaching an intraday record of just over $102.00.