Gold tumbles to lows, weighed down by notable USD demand

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

• Resurgent USD offset risk-off environment.
• Long-unwinding adds to the selling pressure.

Gold came under some intense selling pressure during the early NA session and tumbled to session lows, eroding a major part of previous session's up-move.

Despite a selloff in global equity markets, which tends to underpin demand for traditional safe-haven assets, the precious metal failed to build on its early up-move and has now retreated over $10 from session high level of $1346.

A strong wave of US Dollar buying interest, backed by a goodish rebound in the US Treasury bond yields is turning out to be the only factor weighing heavily on dollar-denominated/non-yielding yellow metal.

The price-action also seems to indicate some long-unwinding pressure below $1340 level, which was seen lending some support through the mid-European session.

With markets shrugging off a strong risk-off environment, the USD price dynamics might continue to act as an exclusive driver of the commodity's momentum in absence of any major market moving economic releases.

Technical levels to watch

A follow-through weakness has the potential to continue dragging the commodity towards its next support near the $1328-26 region, below which the fall could get extended towards $1320 horizontal level.

On the upside, $1340 level now seems to act as immediate resistance, which if cleared could lift the commodity back towards $1345-46 supply zone en-route $1350 area.

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

EUR/USD flirts with daily highs, retargets 1.1900

EUR/USD regains upside traction, returning to the 1.1880 zone and refocusing its attention to the key 1.1900 barrier. The pair’s slight gains comes against the backdrop of a humble decline in the US Dollar as investors continue to assess the latest US CPI readings and the potential Fed’s rate path.

GBP/USD remains well bid around 1.3650

GBP/USD maintains its upside momentum in place, hovering around daily highs near 1.3650 and setting aside part of the recent three-day drop. Cable’s improved sentiment comes on the back of the Greenback’s irresolute price action, while recent hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill also collaborate with the uptick.

Gold clings to gains just above $5,000/oz

Gold is reclaiming part of the ground lost on Wednesday’s marked decline, as bargain-hunters keep piling up and lifting prices past the key $5,000 per troy ounce. The precious metal’s move higher is also underpinned by the slight pullback in the US Dollar and declining US Treasury yields across the curve.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP in choppy price action, weighed down by falling institutional interest

Bitcoin's upside remains largely constrained amid weak technicals and declining institutional interest. Ethereum trades sideways above $1,900 support with the upside capped below $2,000 amid ETF outflows.

Week ahead – Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight

US GDP and PCE inflation are main highlights, plus the Fed minutes. UK and Japan have busy calendars too with focus on CPI. Flash PMIs for February will also be doing the rounds. RBNZ meets, is unlikely to follow RBA’s hawkish path.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.