Gold Price News and Forecast: XAU/USD started on the defensive

FXStreet Team FXStreet

Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD breaches 100-day SMA for first since March

Gold looks south, having breached the widely-tracked 100-day simple moving average (SMA) support for the first time since March 23. The yellow metal fell by 1.67% on Wednesday and closed below the 100-day SMA, flipping the long-term technical support into resistance. The SMA is currently located at $1,887, and the metal is trading at $1,878 per ounce.

Wednesday's drop also marked a downside break of the ascending channel represented by trendlines connecting Sept. 28 and Oct. 14 lows and Oct. 2 and Oct. 12 highs.

Asia Market: Global markets tremble

Gold started on the defensive and racked up further losses. Initially, the USD was slightly firmer in response to Europe's falling equities on concerns over rising Covid-19 cases on both sides of the Atlantic. That seemed to provide a level of anxiety for gold investors. The bullion market is likely to be volatile until the elections; ultimately, the falls will be limited by easy global monetary policies.

EUR/USD steadies near 1.1650 ahead of US Nonfarm Payrolls

EUR/USD holds ground after five days of losses, trading around 1.1650 during the Asian hours on Friday. Traders remain cautious ahead of the US Nonfarm Payrolls report, which is expected to offer further insight into labor market conditions and the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook. December NFP is forecast to show job gains of 60,000, down from 64,000 in November.

GBP/USD: Further weakness could challenge 1.3400

GBP/USD remains under unabated selling pressure on Thursday, slipping to fresh three-day lows around 1.3415 in response to further improvement in the sentiment surrounding the Greenback ahead of Friday’s key NFP data.

Gold defends $4,450, looks to the crucial US NFP report

Gold struggles to capitalize on the previous day's goodish move up from the vicinity of the $4,400 mark and attracts some sellers while defending $4,450 in the Asian session on Friday. The critical US employment details will offer more cues about the Fed's rate-cut path, which, in turn, will influence the US Dollar price dynamics and provide a fresh impetus to the non-yielding bullion.

Forecasts for Payrolls are all over the place

Yesterday’s data put the kybosh on the idea the Fed needs to cut rates fairly urgently to protect the labor market. The jobs component of the ISM services index was nicely over 50, and that rising JOLTS voluntary quits rate also points to no real heartache in labor.

2026 economic outlook: Clear skies but don’t unfasten your seatbelts yet

Most years fade into the background as soon as a new one starts. Not 2025: a year of epochal shifts, in which the macroeconomy was the dog that did not bark. What to expect in 2026? The shocks of 2025 will not be undone, but neither will they be repeated.

XRP slides as institutional and retail demand falters

Ripple is trading down for the third consecutive day on Thursday amid escalating volatility in the cyrptocurrency market. After peaking at $2.41 on Tuesday, its highest print since November 14 amid the early-year rally, XRP has quickly ran into aggressive profit-taking.