Gold holds weaker below $1300 mark

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

• Resurgent US bond yields keep a lid on any meaningful up-move.
• Fading safe-haven demand further adds to the downward pressure.
• Downside remains limited amid the ongoing USD retracement slide.

After an initial uptick to $1303 area, Gold met with some fresh supply and has now drifted back into negative territory.

The precious metal, for the second consecutive session, struggled to hold on to its gains beyond the $1300 round figure mark and remained capped below the very important 200-day SMA. Renewed optimism over the US-North Korea summit and signs of some progress in the US-China trade talks, to some extent, helped offset the latest political uncertainty in Italy and dampened the commodity's safe-haven demand.

This coupled with a strong upsurge in the US Treasury bond yields further dented sentiment surrounding the non-yielding yellow metal and collaborated towards keeping a lid on any meaningful up-move. Further downside, however, remained cushioned amid the ongoing US Dollar retracement slide, which tends to boost demand for dollar-denominated commodities - like Gold.

Moving ahead, today's US economic docket, featuring the release of ADP report on private sector employment and the second estimate of Q1 GDP growth figures will now be looked upon to grab some short-term trading opportunities. The key focus would remain on Friday's official jobs report (NFP), which should help determine the commodity's next leg of directional move.

Technical levels to watch

The $1293-92 region might continue to protect the immediate downside, below which the metal could slide back towards testing $1287-85 support area. On the upside, any momentum beyond the $1300 mark seems more likely to be capped near $1306-07 region (200-DMA), which if cleared might trigger a near-term short-covering bounce.

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

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

GBP/USD hits multi-week tops around 1.3560

GBP/USD gathers fresh steam and advances to new three-month peaks near the 1.3560 zone on Friday. Cable’s sharp move higher comes after three daily drops in a row and follows the increasing selling pressure hurting the Greenback.

EUR/USD pops to fresh two-month highs, targets 1.1600

EUR/USD advances markedly, revisiting the upper 1.1500s for the first time since mid-June. The pair’s sharp uptick comes on the back of a strong retracement in the US Dollar amid BoJ intervention chatter and despite steady uncertainty in the Middle East.

Gold picks up pace, approaches $4,400

Gold rebounds toward the $4,400 mark per troy ounce on Friday, reversing the previous day’s pullback. The precious metal’s recovery comes as fresh and intense weakness keep weighing on the US Dollar, while traders keep assessing easing expectations of an imminent Fed interest rate hike and the situation from the Middle East.

Pi Network Price Forecast: PI extends consolidation as bulls eye $0.10

Pi Network (PI) price holds steady on Friday, maintaining a consolidating tone for three consecutive days. Mild retail strength in the PI token remains stable, with Open Interest above $9 million, while social buzz eases. PI token’s technical outlook is mixed, as bearish momentum wanes to neutral, with bulls eyeing the $0.1000 psychological level.

Weekly focus: Some relief in US inflation concerns

Actual inflation data for July came out as expected with a 0.1% m/m increase in headline CPI and 0.2% excluding food and energy. Annual headline inflation remains too high at 3.4% and means that wage earners are experiencing stagnating spending power at best, and core inflation is a bit higher than the inflation target of two percent would suggest.

Why is Crude Oil priced for a reopening the ships haven't made?

Fourteen vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. Before the war, the count ran near 120 a day. In the sessions since the waterway was publicly declared open, Brent has drifted back to $87 and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to $81, both a little lower again on Wednesday, with daily momentum on each unwound from the top of its range in late July to the low twenties now.