· Gold is flat, trading in a narrow range, first dipping as the US dollar rose and then rising as the US dollar moved lower, but bullion's gains were limited by higher US Treasury yields.
· Financial market players were concerned about a possible US government shutdown, but this did not move gold very much.
· Spot gold was unchanged at $US1,327.61 an ounce by 1.49 pm Thursday EST (0549 Friday AEDT). Earlier in the session, it touched its lowest since January. 12 at $US1,323.70.
US gold futures for February delivery settled down $US12, or 0.9 per cent, at $US1,327.20 per ounce.
· U.S. economic data released Thursday included the weekly jobless claims report, new residential construction and the Philadelphia Fed business survey. The reports were a mixed bag for the marketplace and did not significantly impact the markets.
· The 10-year US Treasury yield hit its highest since March 2017 at 2.61 per cent in European trade, pushing euro zone counterparts higher. Gold is a non-yielding asset so rising yields on the bond market pressure its price.
· "I think you'll also see yields rising with interest rates," pressuring gold, added Mike O'Donnell, market strategist RJO Futures in Chicago.
· Technically, February gold futures prices closed near mid-range. The gold bulls still have the overall near-term technical advantage, amid a five-week-old uptrend in place on the daily bar chart. Gold bulls' next upside near-term price breakout objective is to produce a close above solid technical resistance at the September high of $1,365.80. Bears' next near-term downside price breakout objective is pushing prices below solid technical support at $1,300.00. First resistance is seen at today’s high of $1,333.30 and then at this week’s high of $1,345.00. First support is seen at today’s low of $1,323.30 and then at the $1,320.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.5
· Spot gold is expected to fall to $US1,311 per ounce, as it has broken a support at $US1,329, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
· Some analysts said gold could draw some support from the current correction in digital currencies.
· In other precious metals, silver gained 0.3 per cent at $US16.96 per ounce and palladium shed 1.2 per cent at $US1,101.99. Platinum added 0.57 per cent at $US1,002.40 per ounce, after touching its highest since September 8 at $US1,007.60 in the previous session.
Reference: Business News, Kitco
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