Gold Steadies After Losses, Remains Under $1300

Gold remains under the key level of $1300, as the spot price stands at $1293.13 per ounce late the European session. The metal has now slipped about 2% in the past week. On the release front, it’s a quiet day, highlighted by Core Durable Goods Orders. The markets are expecting a healthy gain after a decline in the May release. On Thursday, US Unemployment Claims sparkled but New Home Sales were well short of expectations.

Unemployment Claims tumbled last week, as the key indicator fell to 284 thousand, its lowest level since February 2008. This surprised the markets, which had expected a reading of 310 thousand. The strong release continues a string of solid employment data, and the dollar could get a boost from the good news. As well, good news on the employment front is bound to increase speculation about a rate increase by the Federal Reserve.

US housing data was dismal on Thursday, as New Home Sales slumped to a three-month low. The key indicator fell to 406 thousand, compared to 504 thousand in the previous release. The markets were way off in their forecast, with an estimate of 485 thousand. There was much better news earlier in the week, as Existing Home Sales jumped to 5.04 million, surpassing the estimate of 4.94 million. This was the best showing we’ve seen since October.

 

XAU/USD for Friday, July 25, 2014

XAU/USD July 25 at 9:15 GMT

XAU/USD 1293.13 H: 1294.51 L: 1290.80

 

XAU/USD Technical

S3 S2 S1 R1 R2 R3
1240 1252 1275 1300 1315 1331

 

  • XAU/USD was unchanged in the Asian session and the lack of movement has continued in European trading.
  • The round number of 1300 is weak resistance. 1315 is stronger.
  • 1275 is providing support. 1252 follows.
  • Current range: 1275 to 130.

Further levels in both directions:

  • Below: 1275, 1252, 1240 and 1218.
  • Above: 1300, 1315, 1331, 1354

 

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

XAU/USD ratio is almost unchanged on Friday. This is consistent with the pair’s movement, as the pair is showing little movement. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards gold breaking out and moving upwards.

 

XAU/USD Fundamentals

  • 12:30 US Core Durable Goods Orders. Estimate 0.6%.
  • 12:30 US Durable Goods Orders. Estimate 0.4%.

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher

Market Analyst at OANDA
A highly experienced financial market analyst with a focus on fundamental analysis, Kenneth Fisher’s daily commentary covers a broad range of markets including forex, equities and commodities. His work has been published in several major online financial publications including Investing.com, Seeking Alpha and FXStreet. Based in Israel, Kenny has been a MarketPulse contributor since 2012.