Gold hangs near 6-month lows, around $1280 level

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

• Escalating US-China trade tensions prompt some safe-haven buying.
• Persistent USD buying keeps a lid on any meaningful up-move.

Gold struggled to register any meaningful recovery and remained within striking distance of near six-month lows set on Friday.

The ongoing US Dollar rally, supported by last week's hawkish Fed rate hike move was seen as one of the key factors weighing heavily on dollar-denominated commodities - like gold on Friday.

The USD buying remained unabated at the start of a new trading week, albeit escalating US-China trade tensions provided a minor boost to the precious metal's safe-haven demand.

This coupled with deteriorating risk appetite, as depicted by weaker trading sentiment around equity markets and further reinforced by retracing US Treasury bond yields, extended some additional support to the non-yielding yellow metal.

The uptick, however, lacked any strong conviction and could also be attributed some short-covering amid near-term oversold conditions. Hence, it would be prudent to wait for a strong follow-through buying before confirming that the commodity might have bottomed out in the near-term.

Technical levels to watch

A sustained move back above $1282 level might assist the metal to recover back towards $1286-87 supply zone and any subsequent momentum now seems to be capped near $1292-93 strong resistance. On the flip side, $1275 level (Friday's swing low) is likely to protect the immediate downside and is followed by a long-term ascending trend-line support near the $1272 region.

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

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

EUR/USD meets initial support around 1.1800

EUR/USD remains on the back foot, although it has managed to reverse the initial strong pullback toward the 1.1800 region and regain some balance, hovering around the 1.1850 zone as the NA session draws to a close on Tuesday. Moving forward, market participants will now shift their attention to the release of the FOMC Minutes and US hard data on Wednesday.

GBP/USD bounces off lows, retargets 1.3550

After bottoming out just below the 1.3500 yardstick, GBP/USD now gathers some fresh bids and advances to the 1.3530-1.3540 band in the latter part of Tuesday’s session. Cable’s recovery comes as the Greenback surrenders part of its advance, although it keeps the bullish bias well in place for the day.

Gold remains offered below $5,000

Gold stays on the defensive on Tuesday, receding to the sub-$5,000 region per troy ounce on the back of the persistent move higher in the Greenback. The precious metal’s decline is also underpinned by the modest uptick in US Treasury yields across the spectrum.

Ethereum Price Forecast: BitMine extends ETH buying streak, says long-term outlook remains positive

Ethereum (ETH) treasury firm BitMine Immersion continued its weekly purchase of the top altcoin last week after acquiring 45,759 ETH.

UK jobs market weakens, bolstering rate cut hopes

In the UK, the latest jobs report made for difficult reading. Nonetheless, this represents yet another reminder for the Bank of England that they need to act swiftly given the collapse in inflation expected over the coming months.

Ripple slides to $1.45 as downside risks surge

Ripple edges lower at the time of writing on Tuesday, from the daily open of $1.48, as headwinds persist across the crypto market. A short-term support is emerging at $1.45, but a buildup of bearish positions could further weaken the derivatives market and prolong the correction.