As of 0719 GMT, spot gold eased about 0.1 percent to $1,296.62 per ounce, after briefly breaching the $1,300 ceiling for the first time since March 1 in the previous session.
It rose 1 percent on Friday, in its biggest one-day gain since Feb. 19.
U.S. gold futures slipped 0.2 percent to $1,296.70 an ounce.
· The dollar rose 0.1 percent against major currencies and traded close to a near three-month peak registered in the previous week, making gold costly for holders of other currencies.
· “The fall this morning is a temporary occurrence due to some early morning profit taking after Friday’s move up. The U.S. dollar is mostly stronger and that is adding some downward pressure on gold,” said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA.
“Structurally gold is well positioned to move higher over the coming months. As the world economy continues to slow and uncertainty increases, it is going to be supportive for gold.”
· “Bullion’s appeal though dented by robust U.S. dollar prospects will stand tall amidst a decelerating global economy in 2019,” Phillip Futures said in a note, adding gold would stay firm as the United Kingdom prepares for key votes on the Brexit deal.
· UK is due to leave the European Union on March 29, with parliament expected to reject Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal in a vote on Tuesday. Britain will face an economic shock if it leaves without a deal.
· Meanwhile, speculators slashed their net long position in gold in the week to March 5, to its lowest in over a month, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
· Wall Street flipped from bearish to bullish on gold, while Main Street remained bullish, in the weekly Kitco News survey.
Fourteen market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. Twelve participants, or 86%, described themselves as bullish for the week ahead. There was one vote each, or 7%, for lower and neutral.
Meanwhile, 538 respondents took part in an online Main Street poll. A total of 274 voters, or 51%, called for gold to rise. Another 177, or 33%, predicted gold would fall. The remaining 87 voters, or 16%, saw a sideways market.
· Gold’s weekly outlook: Mar 11-15
Gold had a suspenseful week where it broke through the long term trendline on the first day but eventually managed to close above it on the last day of the trading week thus keeping the trend intact as the support was once again respected. Gold had fallen a quick $12 before settling $5 higher for the week. Given the price action, it clearly suggests there is lot of buying interest at lower levels and the weekly support line still acts as a strong support keeping the bullish trend intact.
On larger terms, Gold continues to remain bullish and prices are expected to head higher.
Possible trades are on both sides, gold can be bought above $1300 for the targets of $1308 and $1318 with a stop loss placed below $1290.Longer term target $1327.
Short trades come into the picture once the support gets broken for targets of $1284 and $
· Among other precious metals, palladium rose 0.2 percent to 1,517.37 per ounce, while silver was flat at $15.30 per ounce.
Platinum was down 0.6 percent at $810.43 per ounce, after touching its lowest since Feb. 19 at $806.50 earlier in the day.
Reference: Reuters
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