Gold drops to test YTD lows as dollar strengthens

Recovery in gold prices halted below $1200, erased daily gains and dropped back to levels near $1190.
Greenback gained momentums during the US session and DXY hit fresh 1-year highs.

Matías Salord FXStreet

Gold peaked earlier today at $1,198/oz but the reversed and erased gains. The price fell to $1,191.80 hitting a fresh daily low, cents above the year-to-date low it hit yesterday at $1,191.50. As of writing, XAU/USD was trading at $1,193 flat for the day, holding under the $1,200 and keeping the bearish bias intact.

Concerns about Emerging Markets did not favor the demand for gold. Price action continues to be driven by the US dollar. Recently, while gold turned to the downside, the Dollar Index rose above 96.60 hitting a new 13-month high

Gold is consolidating yesterday’s moves: the break of a 1-week range and also of the $1200 handle, so the bearish tone remains intact. On a weekly basis, gold heads for the sixth consecutive negative weekly close.

XAU/USD Technical levels

To the downside support levels area seen at $1,191.50 (Aug 13 low), $1,188 and $1,180 (Jan 27 2017 low). On the upside, resistance could be located at $1,199, $1,205 (last week low) and $1,215/17.

Author

Matías Salord

FXStreet

Matías started in financial markets in 2008, after graduating in Economics. He was trained in chart analysis and then became an educator. He also studied Journalism. He started writing analyses for specialized websites before joining FXStreet.

EUR/USD slumps below 1.1800 on hawkish Fed Minutes, eyes on ECB succession

The EUR/USD pair tumbles to a near two-week low around 1.1785 during the early Asian session on Thursday. The US Dollar strengthens against the Euro on hawkish FOMC minutes that revived speculation about potential interest rate hikes if inflation remains elevated.

GBP/USD extends decline as weak jobs data bolsters BoE rate cut bets

The Pound Sterling continued to backslide under sustained pressure on Wednesday, following through after the UK employment report on Tuesday showed a labour market deteriorating faster than expected.

Gold rises above $4,950 as US-Iran tensions boost safe-haven demand

Gold price holds positive ground near $4,985 during the early Asian session on Thursday. The precious metal recovers amid shifts in geopolitical sentiment, boosting safe-haven demand. Traders will keep an eye on the release of US Initial Jobless Claims, Pending Home Sales data, and the Fedspeak later on Thursday.

Zora launches attention markets on Solana network

Zora has launched a new attention markets feature on the Solana network, allowing users to trade and speculate on emerging online cultural trends.

Mixed UK inflation data no gamechanger for the Bank of England

Food inflation plunged in January, but service sector price pressure is proving stickier. We continue to expect Bank of England rate cuts in March and June. The latest UK inflation read is a mixed bag for the Bank of England, but we doubt it drastically changes the odds of a March rate cut.

Sui extends sideways action ahead of Grayscale’s GSUI ETF launch

Sui is extending its downtrend for the second consecutive day, trading at 0.95 at the time of writing on Wednesday. The Layer-1 token is down over 16% in February and approximately 34% from the start of the year, aligning with the overall bearish sentiment across the crypto market.