Gold sell-off pauses near $1240

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

The XAU/USD pair came in under a sudden and a sharp selling pressure in the European session and dropped to its lowest level in 40 days at $1238.28. following that move, the precious metal started to consolidate its gains against the greenback, allowing the XAU/USD pair to now trade at $1240.50, where it's still losing 1.3% on the day.

The steep fall, which accounted for a loss of $15 in the pair, is speculated to be caused by a $2 billion worth liquidation.

Gold flash-crash due to ‘Fat finger’ error?

In a few minutes, Durable Goods Orders and Chicago Fed National Activity Index data will be released from the U.S. Ahead of the data, the US Dollar Index is moving in its tight range above the 97 handle. At the moment, the DXY is at 97.05, up 0.06% on the day. The markets expect a rebound in Durable Goods Orders in May and a positive reading could help the index move towards its session high of 97.15, helping the XAU/USD recover more of its losses.

Technical outlook

The lower are of the Bollinger Band on the daily graph could be seen as the first technical support at $1234 ahead of $1228 (200-DMA) and $1218 (May 10 low). To the upside, resistances align at $1255 (50-DMA), $1262 (20-DMA) and $1270 (Jun. 12 high).

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

EUR/USD hovers around 1.1850 ahead of FOMC Minutes

EUR/USD stays on the back foot around 1.1850 in the European session on Wednesday, pressured by renewed US Dollar demand. Traders now look forward to the Minutes of the Fed's January monetary policy meeting for fresh signals on future rate cuts.

GBP/USD defends 1.3550 after UK inflation data

GBP/USD is holding above 1.3550 in Wednesday's European morning, little changed following the UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) data release. The UK inflation eased as expected in January, reaffirming bets for a March BoE interest rate cut, especially after Tuesday's weak employment report.

Gold retains bullish bias amid Fed rate cut bets, ahead of Fed Minutes

Gold sticks to modest intraday gains through the early European session, reversing a major part of the previous day's heavy losses of more than 2%, to the $4,843-4,842 region or a nearly two-week low. That said, the fundamental backdrop warrants caution for bulls ahead of the FOMC Minutes, which will look for more cues about the US Federal Reserve's rate-cut path.

Pi Network rally defies market pressure ahead of its first anniversary

Pi Network is trading above $0.1900 at press time on Wednesday, extending the weekly gains by nearly 8% so far. The steady recovery is supported by a short-term pause in mainnet migration, which reduces pressure on the PI token supply for Centralized Exchanges. The technical outlook focuses on the $0.1919 resistance as bullish momentum increases.

Mixed UK inflation data no gamechanger for the Bank of England

Food inflation plunged in January, but service sector price pressure is proving stickier. We continue to expect Bank of England rate cuts in March and June. The latest UK inflation read is a mixed bag for the Bank of England, but we doubt it drastically changes the odds of a March rate cut.

Top 3 Price Prediction: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple face downside risk as bears regain control

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple remain under pressure on Wednesday, with the broader trend still sideways. BTC is edging below $68,000, nearing the lower consolidating boundary, while ETH and XRP also declined slightly, approaching their key supports.