Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD battles $1,780 amid downbeat covid updates, US dollar pullback

Gold’s corrective pullback fades around immediate key hurdle.
S&P 500 Futures print mild gains despite virus woes in Japan, Canada.
Yellen, Fed’s Kashkari troubled traders earlier but off in Tokyo, Beijing limit market moves afterward.
US data, risk catalysts will be the key to follow.

Anil Panchal FXStreet

Gold buyers attack $1,780 while flashing an intraday high of $1,779.71 during early Wednesday. The bright metal dropped the heaviest in over a month the previous day as risk-off mood put a bid under the US dollar. However, an absence of Japanese and Chinese traders seems to restrict the bullion’s corrective pullback.

Even so, the commodity prices cheer 0.20% intraday gains of S&P 500 Futures while paying a little to the US dollar pullback and the latest coronavirus (COVID-19) updates from Japan and Canada.

Market sentiment restores the previous cautious optimism after US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reversed her initial comments backing the rate hike. Also on the positive side could be comments from Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari while turns down the need for any action unless inflation surprises.

Alternatively, Japan aims to extend the third state of emergency in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures beyond the May 11 deadline. Additionally, Canada escalates virus-led activity restrictions in Alberta province as pandemic resurgence gains momentum.

Amid these plays, the US dollar index (DXY) prints mild losses and stocks in Asia-Pacific remain sluggish by the press time.

Looking forward, cautious sentiment ahead of the key US ISM Services PMI and ADP Employment Change for April could keep restricting gold’s short-term upside. However, the latest challenges to the risk appetite flash downside risk for the bullion prices.

Read: US ISM Services PMI April Preview: Inflation readings remain key as recovery gains strength

Technical analysis

Gold prices stay above $1,766-69 support confluence comprising 50-day and 21-day EMA, as well as a three-week-old ascending trend line, which in turn keeps the buyers hopeful. However, a clear break above $1,780 becomes necessary for the bulls to attack the $1,800 threshold.

Additional important levels

Overview
Today last price	1779.6
Today Daily Change	0.60
Today Daily Change %	0.03%
Today daily open	1779

Trends
Daily SMA20	1767.38
Daily SMA50	1744.91
Daily SMA100	1798.85
Daily SMA200	1853.98

Levels
Previous Daily High	1799.08
Previous Daily Low	1770.9
Previous Weekly High	1790.03
Previous Weekly Low	1756.18
Previous Monthly High	1797.93
Previous Monthly Low	1705.84
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	1781.66
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	1788.32
Daily Pivot Point S1	1766.91
Daily Pivot Point S2	1754.81
Daily Pivot Point S3	1738.73
Daily Pivot Point R1	1795.09
Daily Pivot Point R2	1811.17
Daily Pivot Point R3	1823.27

Author

Anil Panchal

FXStreet

Anil Panchal has nearly 15 years of experience in tracking financial markets. With a keen interest in macroeconomics, Anil aptly tracks global news/updates and stays well-informed about the global financial moves and their implications.

AUD/USD: The 0.7000 level holds the downside…for now

AUD/USD has clinched its fourth consecutive daily pullback on Thursday, coming closer to the key 0.7000 region while breaking below the critical 200-day SMA at the same time. The Aussie’s decline comes on the back of further gains in the Greenback in a context of rising yields and Fed rate hike bets.

USD/JPY keeps the red near 158.00 as Japanese Yen firms up

USD/JPY retreats from three-week highs and holds losses near 158.00 in the Asian session on Thursday. Surging Japanese bond yields lift the Yen amid looming intervention risks, while the US Dollar preserves overnight gains to a two-month high amid hawkish Fed bets and elevated US bond yields.

Gold bounces off lows, still below $4,300

Gold builds on Wednesday’s retracement, briefly slipping back below $4,250 per troy ounce to attempt a lacklustre rebound afterwards. The better tone in the US Dollar, rising US Treasury yields and expectation of extra rate hikes by the Fed continue to weigh on the precious metal in the latter part of Thursday’s NA session.

XRP is flashing three bullish signals heading into a historically weak October

XRP (XRP) is still flashing 3 bullish signals across its holders, derivatives, and ETF data. These signals come as the token gave back part of its September gains on Thursday. The token traded near $1.50 at press time, down about 6.3% over 24 hours, according to BeInCrypto Markets data. The pullback still leaves XRP up over 15.6% on the week, a gain that tracks a broader market rally.

Advanced economies: From one example of resilience to another

History tends to repeat itself in advanced economies. Once again, growth ultimately fell short of expectations by only a small margin in the first half of 2026, despite the conflict in Iran. As early as 2025, the impact of tariffs was less severe than feared.

BoJ Recap: Not as hawkish as expected

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised its short-term interest-rate target to 1.25% from 1.00% in a 7-2 vote, marking another step in the normalisation of monetary policy and widely matching what everyone has been expecting for weeks.