Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD holds below the $2,100 mark, a nine-week high, eyes on Chinese Services PMI data

Gold price holds positive ground near $2,085.55 in Monday’s early Asian session.
The US ISM Manufacturing PMI came in worse than expected, dropping to 47.8 in February from 49.1 in January.
Fed’s Bostic said the central bank would cut rates in the summertime if the economy evolves as he expects.

Lallalit Srijandorn FXStreet

Gold price (XAU/USD) rose to a nine-week high below the $2,100 mark during the early Asian trading hours on Monday. The downbeat US economic data on Friday triggered speculation about the interest rate cuts later this year. Additionally, the lower US Treasury yields added impetus to the rise in investor demand for the yellow metal. At press time, the gold price is trading at $2,085.55, unchanged for the day.

Data released from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Friday showed that the US Manufacturing PMI dropped to 47.8 in February from 49.1 in the previous reading. The figure registered the 16th consecutive month that it remained below 50, which indicates a contraction in manufacturing.

The Federal Reserve (Fed) held the policy rate steady at the 5.25–5.50% range at its January meeting. Investors anticipated that the Fed to lower the rate by the end of 2024. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he will monitor the longer-term trends and repeated his view that he sees the US central bank cutting rates in the summertime if the economy evolves as he expects. This, in turn, might improve the appeal of yellow metal and lift the price of gold.

Chinese Manufacturing sent mixed signals last month about the health of the economy. Investors will take more cues from the Chinese Caixin Services PMI for February on Tuesday. Additionally, the development surrounding the stimulus measure from the Chinese authorities could provide some support for the gold price.

Gold traders will keep an eye on the Chinese February Caixin Services PMI and the US ISM Services PMI on Tuesday. The Fed's Chair Jerome Powell testifies on Wednesday might offer some hints about a broad overview of the economy and monetary policy. On Friday, the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) will be in the spotlight.

XAU/USD

Overview
Today last price	2085.72
Today Daily Change	2.15
Today Daily Change %	0.10
Today daily open	2083.57

Trends
Daily SMA20	2026.34
Daily SMA50	2033.89
Daily SMA100	2014.23
Daily SMA200	1968.76

Levels
Previous Daily High	2088.39
Previous Daily Low	2039.12
Previous Weekly High	2088.39
Previous Weekly Low	2024.57
Previous Monthly High	2065.49
Previous Monthly Low	1984.26
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	2069.57
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	2057.94
Daily Pivot Point S1	2052.33
Daily Pivot Point S2	2021.09
Daily Pivot Point S3	2003.06
Daily Pivot Point R1	2101.6
Daily Pivot Point R2	2119.63
Daily Pivot Point R3	2150.87

Author

Lallalit Srijandorn

FXStreet

Lallalit Srijandorn is a Parisian at heart. She has lived in France since 2019 and now becomes a digital entrepreneur based in Paris and Bangkok.

AUD/USD leans on a China prop that's quietly buckling

The Australian Dollar spent Monday trying to talk itself into a recovery, and the tape was not buying it. AUD/USD has ridden a China-and-commodities narrative for months, one that conveniently glossed over how shaky both legs of that trade have become, and Friday's Nonfarm Payrolls print finally forced a reckoning. US employers added 172K jobs against a consensus near 85K, with roughly 93K of upward revisions to prior months and the unemployment rate steady at 4.3%.

USD/JPY: Japanese Yen ignores every reason it has to strengthen

There is a strange disconnect running through the Japanese Yen right now, and USD/JPY parked just above 160.00 captures it perfectly. By any domestic reading the Yen should be firming: first-quarter Gross Domestic Product beat expectations over the weekend at 0.5% on the quarter, the Bank of Japan is widely expected to raise rates at its meeting on June 18, and authorities have spent the past week jawboning a currency they clearly want stronger.

Gold faces initial resistance near $4,350

Gold manages to reclaim the $4,300 mark per troy ounce and above on Monday. The yellow metal’s small uptick comes on the back of modest losses in the US Dollar, while traders continue to follow geopolitical events in the Middle East and the likelihood of a tighter-for-longer Fed.

Strategy resumes BTC accumulation with 1,550 Bitcoin purchase, adjusts STRC dividend schedule

Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy bought 1,550 BTC last week for roughly $101.3 million, according to a Form 8-K filing on Monday. The purchase, made at an average price of $65,332 per Bitcoin, was funded through proceeds from the company's at-the-market equity offering program.

$1.75 trillion: Is SpaceX the most popular IPO in history, or the most engineered?

On June 12, the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history is set to hit the tape, and almost nobody is asking whether the price is right, because almost everybody already wants in.

The US economy defies the rules: 100 days into the Oil shock and the recession signal is still missing

More than three months after the start of the Iran war and the resulting disruption to global energy markets, the US economy continues to display remarkable resilience. The conflict has triggered a sharp rise in Oil prices, reignited inflationary pressures and fueled widespread concerns about a potential economic slowdown.