· Gold prices were under pressure on Thursday after hawkish remarks from a top U.S. Federal Reserve strengthened the dollar, with investors now focusing on non-farm payrolls data for cues on the labor market’s recovery.
· Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,809.91 per ounce by 0654 GMT, while U.S. gold futures fell by a similar margin to $1,812.10.
· “The bulls are not able to take this market beyond the $1,810-$1,815 range and are waiting for a fresh trigger,” said Jigar Trivedi, a commodities analyst at Mumbai-based broker Anand Rathi Shares.
· “If the nonfarm payrolls come on the higher side gold will likely see a sharp sell-off, falling to $1,790, with a drop to $1,760 also being a possibility.”
· Gold prices jumped more than 1% in the previous session on disappointing ADP National Employment Report, but pared gains following Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida’s remarks that conditions for raising interest rates could be met by the end of 2022.
· He and three other Fed members also suggested a move to taper bond buying later this year or early next depending on the recovery in the labor market.
· Higher interest rates raise the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold.
· The dollar index held firmed on the hawkish comments.
· Analysts, however, saw mounting coronavirus cases as lending support to gold prices.
· Given that the pandemic is showing no signs of abating, the price risk is biased towards the upside, said Margaret Yang, a strategist at DailyFX, adding that prices will go higher if Fed delays tapering plan.
· Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 200 million on Wednesday, with the United States accounting for one in every seven global infections, according to a Reuters tally.
· Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD swings in a familiar range of $1,810 and $1,830
Gold prices were unable to find traction after posting substantial gains on Wednesday’s session following the dismal US ADP Employment data, which showed that only 330K jobs were added in July.
Meanwhile, the precious metal’s downside is capped as demand emerges near the lower level amid rising concerns on the spread of the Delta variant and its possible effect on global growth recovery.
Investors remain hesitant to take a big position in the precious metal ahead of Friday as focus shifts to US Non-Farm Payroll data, due on Friday.
The ascending trendline from the low of ascending trendline acts as a defensive for the bulls. A break of the bullish slop line would intensify the selling pressure in the gold prices.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) remains neutral near the midline. A downtick in the MACD indicator would confirm the downside momentum.
A sustained break below the $1,800 would make the journey toward the south for the prices.
· Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD bears are hopeful, downside consolidative mode is underway
Gold is trading subdued at lower levels on Bank of England’s (BoE) Super Thursday, clinging onto key support at $1811. As FXStreet’s Dhwani Mehta notes, risks appear skewed in favor of XAU/USD bears.
Gold’s daily setup suggests choppy to range-bound trading
“Immediate focus now remains on the BoE monetary policy announcements, with the central bank likely to stand pat but may offer hints towards a potential tapering of its bond-buying programme amid concerns over rising inflation. Any hawkish tilt from the BoE could dent the sentiment on the global stocks, lifting the dollar further, in turn, negatively impacting gold.”
“Also of note remains the US Jobless Claims and Fed official Waller’s speech for fresh incentives on gold price action. However, Friday’s US NFP release will set the tone for the market and gold’s direction.”
“A sustained break below the 21-DMA support at $1811 could expose the ascending 100-DMA at $1804 and the psychological $1800 mark. Further south, the range lows around $1790 could be put at risk if the selling pressure intensifies.”
“The 200-DMA at $1819 continues to challenge the bullish commitments. Recapturing this level convincingly is likely to prompt a retest of the bearish 50-DMA at $1822. Buyers will seek fresh entries to challenge Wednesday’s high en-route the $1840 round number.”
· Elsewhere, silver fell 0.1% to $25.34 per ounce, having hit a near three-week peak on Wednesday.
· Platinum earlier hit a more than seven-month low of $1,005.50 and was last down 1.5% at $1,010.46.
· Palladium rose 0.2% to $2,652.81. (Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; editing by Ramakrishnan M. and Anil D’Silva)
· U.S. developing plan to require foreign visitors to be vaccinated, official says
The Biden administration is developing a plan to require nearly all foreign visitors to the United States to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as part of eventually lifting travel restrictions that bar much of the world from entering the United States, a White House official told Reuters on Wednesday.
The White House wants to re-open travel, which would boost business for the airlines and tourism industry, but is not ready to immediately lift restrictions because of the rising COVID-19 case load and highly transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant, the official said.
· Sydney suffers deadliest day of pandemic as lockdown nears seventh week
· Japan to expand COVID-19 curbs as surges strain hospitals
· Senators file crypto broker amendment to infrastructure bill after industry backlash
Some U.S. senators introduced an amendment to the infrastructure bill Wednesday attempting to clear up confusion about cryptocurrency “brokers,” based on language in the existing version that could roil the crypto markets if passed.
· Bank of England set to keep stimulus pumping despite inflation rebound
The Bank of England is expected to keep its huge support for Britain’s economy running at full speed on Thursday, despite a strong recovery from its pandemic slump and a jump in inflation.
With more than 70% of adults in Britain now fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and most social-distancing rules lifted, Britain’s economy has recouped much of its 10% crash of 2020 and is on course to match the United States and grow at the fastest pace among big rich nations this year.
Inflation jumped to 2.5% in June and the BoE will say in a new set of forecasts that it is on course to rise even further about its 2% target in the months ahead.
· German industrial orders bounce back on strong domestic demand
German industrial orders rose more than expected in June, data showed on Thursday, driven by bookings for large industrial items mainly from domestic clients.
The figures published by the Federal Statistics Office showed orders for goods ‘Made in Germany’ jumped by 4.1% on the month in seasonally adjusted terms.
· Indonesia exits recession with 7% GDP growth in Q2, but virus clouds recovery
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