Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD eyes $1709 support after strong NFP boosts yields –Confluence Detector

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

Gold (XAU/USD) is holding onto the recent recovery gains at around $1730 on Easter Monday, with thin trades offering little incentives. Meanwhile, strong US NFP jobs reported-led spike in the shorter-duration Treasury yields weigh on the non-yielding bright metal.

The Fed is expected to increases rates sooner than previously anticipated after the US jobs blowout strengthened the prospects of faster economic recovery amidst higher vaccination rates.

Stepping into a fresh week, the investors remain on the edge ahead of US Services PMI and FOMC minutes. However, gold remains at risk of witnessing some wild moves amid holiday-thinned market conditions.

How is gold positioned technically?

Gold Price Chart: Key resistance and support levels

The Technical Confluences Detector shows that gold needs a firm break above $1729, the Fibonacci 61.8% one-month, to extending the two-day recovery momentum.

The previous week high at $1733 could challenge the bulls’ commitments. The next crucial hurdle awaits at $1738, the pivot point one-day R1.

Acceptance above the latter is likely to fuel a sharp rally towards $1747, the pivot point one-day R2.

Alternatively, the SMA5 four-hour at $1726 guards the immediate downside.

Further south, a stack of healthy support levels is seen around $1724, where the SMA10 one-day coincides with the Bollinger Band one-hour Middle.

The Fibonacci 61.8% one-day at $1715 could offer some respite to the XAU bulls.

A breach of the Fibonacci 38.2% one-month at $1709 could revive the bearish sentiment.

Here is how it looks on the tool

About Technical Confluences Detector

The TCD (Technical Confluences Detector) is a tool to locate and point out those price levels where there is a congestion of indicators, moving averages, Fibonacci levels, Pivot Points, etc. Knowing where these congestion points are located is very useful for the trader, and can be used as a basis for different strategies.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

AUD/USD keeps range near mid-0.7100s as USD bulls await US CPI

AUD/USD steadies near mid-0.7100s in the Asian session on Friday, stalling the previous day's sharp decline to an over one-week low. The August PPI report reaffirmed Fed rate-hike bets and boosted the US Dollar on Thursday, which weighed heavily on the pair. However, hawkish RBA expectations limited losses for the Aussie as USD bulls now await the release of the US consumer inflation figures before placing fresh bets.

USD/JPY holds lower ground toward 154.00; looks to US CPI

USD/JPY holds lower ground toward 154.00 in the Asian session on Friday after hot Japanese PPI data bolster a more hawkish BoJ repricing and provide fresh impetus to the Japanese Yen. However, the downside appears capped as the US Dollar preserves overnight gains ahead of the latest US consumer inflation data.

Gold rebounds and retargets $4,400

Gold regains composure and trades with decent gains on Friday, managing to refocus in attention to the $4,440 mark per ounce troy. Therefore, the precious metal reverses Thursday’s decline amid a marginal retracement in the US Dollar after the release of August inflation print.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP extends decline as returning ETF inflows fail to lift outlook

Ripple (XRP) falls below $1.33 on Friday, marking the third consecutive day of declines. The token continues to track the broader cryptocurrency market downturn, with investors closely monitoring heightened macroeconomic uncertainty ahead of the United States (US) Consumer Price Index (CPI) release and next week’s Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy decision.

Weekly focus – The hawks set the tone

Risky assets came under pressure this week as energy prices kept creeping higher and the ECB surprised the markets with a hawkish tone. The price of Brent crude touched USD 110 per barrel on Thursday night, highest since mid-May, as news emerged that the Yemeni Houthis had reached control of key port cities and islands near the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

Venezuela’s 65-billion-barrel Oil deal could reshape America’s inflation fight

The United States (US) has secured unprecedented access to part of Venezuela’s vast Oil reserves. The timing is particularly significant as the war with Iran is disrupting Middle Eastern supplies, keeping energy prices elevated and reviving concerns about inflation.