Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD to meltdown below the $1,675 mark – TDS

With every downtick, the risk of capitulation in gold is rising. Economists at TD Securities expect the yellow metal to slump below the $1,675 level.

China's appetite for gold has remained resilient

“The top players in Shanghai markets continue to add to their gold length, despite a depreciating CNY. These flows, alongside central bank demand, have likely kept gold from melting in a liquidity vacuum amid a hawkish Fed narrative, Nonetheless, the risk of capitulation from bloated prop-shop positioning is growing with every tick lower in prices as we approach this cohort's pandemic-era entry levels.”

“The downtrend in gold is gaining steam, as the breadth of technical signals short continues to firm.”

“The risk of a breakout in the broad dollar index could coincide with a meltdown below the $1,675 range in gold.”

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Breaking: Private sector employment rises by 132,000 in August vs 288,000 expected

The data published by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) showed on Wednesday that private sector employment in the US rose by 132,000 in August. This reading came in weaker than the market expectation for an increase of 288,000.

Commenting on the report, “our data suggests a shift toward a more conservative pace of hiring, possibly as companies try to decipher the economy's conflicting signals,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. “We could be at an inflection point, from super-charged job gains to something more normal.”

Market reaction

With the initial market reaction, the US Dollar Index edged lower and was last seen trading flat on the day at 108.85.

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Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD remains on the defensive amid risk-on, Fed rate-hike jitters

Gold attracts some dip-buying on Tuesday, though lacks any strong follow-through.

Retreating US bond yields undermine the USD and offer some support to the metal.

The risk-on impulse caps the upside amid expectations for aggressive Fed rate hikes.

Gold reverses a modest intraday dip to the $1,729 area and turns neutral during the first half of the European session, though it lacks any follow-through. The XAU/USD is currently seen exchnaging hands at around the $1,735 region and so far, has struggled to capitalize on the overnight bounce from over a one-month low.

The US dollar meets with a fresh supply for the second straight day and retreats further from a 20-year high touched the previous day, which, in turn, offers some support to the dollar-denominated gold. The ongoing USD profit-taking slide could be solely attributed to another decline in the US Treasury bond yields, which further benefits the non-yielding gold.

The upside, however, remains limited amid firming expectations for a supersized 75 bps Fed rate hike at the September meeting. The bets were reaffirmed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell's hawkish remarks on Friday, signalling that interest rates would be kept higher for longer to bring down inflation. This, along with the risk-on impulse, seem to cap gains for gold.

Chinese authorities pledged to stimulate the world’s second-largest economy and boosted investors' confidence. This is evident from a strong rally in the equity markets, which might hold back traders from placing bullish bets around the safe-haven precious metal. This warrants caution before confirming that gold has formed a bottom and positioning for any further gains.

Market participants look forward to the US economic docket - featuring JOLTS Job Openings data and the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index later during the early North American session. This, along with the US bond yields, might influence the USD. Apart from this, the risk sentiment might contribute to producing short-term trading opportunities around gold.

From a technical perspective the pair is in a medium-term downtrend that began in March 2022. This suggests the overall bias is still for lower prices to come. Major, multiple support – comprised of key lows from 2021 as well as the 200-week SMA – kicks in at $1680.00, however, and if price gets that low it will likely find a floor there and, either consolidate or bounce.

The daily chart is more complex and less bearish. Monday's dragon-fly doji candlestick is a bullish reversal insignia which will be confirmed if today (Tuesday, August 30) ends bullishly green – if not then sellers may still prevail. Confirmation would suggest at least the potential for a recovery back up to the 50-day SMA and the swing high at around $1760.00. Furthermore, markets are slow, traditionally a warning to traders not to go short. Many may have gone into wait-and-see mode till the fog clears and the market shows its hand. 

This might not happen until the closely-watched US monthly jobs report, popularly known as NFP, is released on Friday. August's employment figures will provide some insight into the economy's health in the face of rising rates and stubbornly high inflation. This, in turn, will drive the USD demand and gold prices ahead of the next FOMC meeting in September. A better-than-expected figure will suggest the economy is still booming and the Fed has more work to do to tame inflation, strengthening the dollar in the process but depressing gold. A weaker-than-expected result will have the opposite effect and probably help gold prices go higher.  

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EUR/USD Price Analysis: Interim top in place?

EUR/USD regains composure after the earlier drop near 0.9900.

Bullish attempts should meet initial hurdle near 1.0100.

EUR/USD reverses the initial pessimism, including a test of the vicinity of the 0.9900 zone on Monday.

The recent failure to advance beyond 1.0100 leaves this region as a potential near-term top, while the 0.9900 neighbourhood seems to offer quite a decent contention for the time being. The breach of the 2022 low at 0.9899 (August 23) could sponsor a deeper pullback to the December 2002 low at 0.9859.

In the longer run, the pair’s bearish view is expected to prevail as long as it trades below the 200-day SMA at 1.0819.

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GBP/USD needs to clear strong resistance at 1.1870 to gather bullish momentum

GBP/USD has managed to recover above 1.1800 on Friday ahead of FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks at the Jackson Hole Symposium. The pair will reveal a buildup of bullish momentum on a break past 1.1870, FXStreet’s Eren Sengezer reports.

Pound struggles to turn bullish ahead of Powell

“In case the chairman's comments suggest that the bank could opt for another 75 basis points in September, GBP/USD could turn south amid a stronger dollar. On the other hand, an optimistic tone inflation outlook should hurt the greenback and help GBP/USD gain traction.”

“On the upside, cable faces key resistance at 1.1870, where the Fibonacci 23.6% retracement level of the latest downtrend is located. Above that level, the 50-period SMA forms interim resistance at 1.1900 ahead of 1.1940 (Fibonacci 38.2% retracement).”

“1.1800 (psychological level, 20-period SMA) aligns as initial support before 1.1750 (static level, end-point of the downtrend) and 1.1720 (Aug. 23 low).”

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US: Weekly Initial Jobless Claims decline to 243K vs. 253K expected

Initial Jobless Claims fell by 2,000 in the week ending August 20.

US Dollar Index trades flat on the day above 108.50.

There were 243,000 initial jobless claims in the week ending August 20, the weekly data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) showed on Thursday. This print followed the previous week's print of 245,000 (revised from 252,000) and came in better than the market expectation of 253,000.

Further details of the publication revealed that the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1% and the 4-week moving average was 247,000, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's unrevised average.

"The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 13 was 1,415,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level," the DOL further announced.

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index edged higher after this data and was last seen trading virtually unchanged on the day at 108.56.

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Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD capped by sellers aligned around $1,750

Gold price has been on the back foot, despite the generally negative market mood, currently trading at around $1,745.80 a troy ounce. The metal bottomed at the beginning of the week at $1,727.70, as the dollar outperformed other safe-haven assets throughout the first half of the week. Nevertheless, the greenback got hit by poor US data released on Tuesday, pulling down from its recent highs and correcting extreme overbought conditions against most major rivals. The bright metal peaked at $1,754.07 but so far cannot retain the $1,750 mark, with sellers quickly appearing in attempts to surpass the level. XAU/USD is seen at a critical juncture as bull-bear tug-of-war could set in, FXStreet’s Dhwani Mehta reports.

Meanwhile, financial markets are relatively quiet at the moment as investors await the US Durable Goods Orders report, expected to post a modest 0.6% advance in July. Such a tepid report will likely exacerbate concerns about a recession and weigh on high-yielding assets. The dollar will likely resume its bullish momentum after the latest pullback and is seen strengthening against its brighten rival. 

XAU/USD bears return after rejection above $1,750

“The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) is turning south once again while below the midline, suggesting that the downside pressure could build up in the sessions ahead.”

“Adding credence to the bearish bias, the 50-Daily Moving Average (DMA) is fast approaching the 21 DMA from above.”

“A sustained break below the Fibonacci Retracement (Fibo) level of the recovery from yearly lows of $1,681 to the August 10 high of $1,808 at $1,729 will open up the downside towards the $1,700 mark.”

“Bulls need a daily closing above the $1,750 psychological level, above which the 38.2% Fibo resistance at $1,760 will be probed. Further up, the meeting point of the 21 and 50 DMAs at $1,769 will be a tough nut to crack for XAU bulls.”

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