There was very little movement in the prices of gold yesterday. XAUUSD opened at $1,454.37 and traded within a 37-cent range throughout the day. By the end of the New York session, gold prices had settled at $1,455.69.
This was not surprising. After all, most financial markets have been moving according US data and updates on the US-China trade negotiations. With yesterday’s calendar blank with reports from the US and with no updates on trade ongoing trade war, it was a quiet day for trading.
Next week should be different with the non-farm payrolls report from the US scheduled for release. It is the government’s official employment data and it typically gets a ton of reaction from financial markets as it is considered as an accurate barometer of economic health. Positive job figures will be bearish for gold because it would affirm the Fed’s optimism on the economy.
Until that is released on Friday, gold traders can take their cue from updates on the US-China trade negotiations. The last headline we have gotten regarding this was that US President Donald Trump has signed the HK rights bill into law. It has been previously condemned by Chinese policymakers and have warned against retaliation if the US meddles with its issues. There is a general sense of concern among market participants that China could impose its own tariffs on US goods. If this happens, we may not have a phase one deal signed by this year. Risk aversion should then ensue and boost demand for gold as a safe haven asset.
XAUUSD has been clinging on to support at its November 12 lows at $1,455.00. By connecting the highs and lows of November 26 and November 28, we can see that gold prices have broken out of the symmetrical triangle.
If there are enough buyers in today’s session, we could see gold prices trade higher to their November 26 highs at $1,462.69. On the other hand, if support at $1,455.00 can be broken, gold prices may drop to $1,406.00 where the commodity consolidated in July 2019.Download our latest quarterly market outlook for our longer-term trade ideas.