Gold Almost Unchanged After New Year’s Break

Gold is showing little movement on Friday, as the metal trades at a spot price of $1181.98 per ounce in the European session. Today’s highlight out of the US is the ISM Manufacturing PMI, with the markets expecting a drop in the December reading. The estimate stands at 57.4 points.

Gold started the year at $1205, just above the key level of $1200. The metal hit a yearly high of $1388 in March, but was unable to stay at this lofty level for very long. In recent months, gold has struggled as the dollar has surged on the currency markets and other commodities such as oil have taken a hit. With the US recovery deepening and the Federal Reserve likely to raise rates in the first half of next year, we could see the metal lose more ground against the greenback in early 2015.

XAU/USD for Friday, January 2, 2015

XAU/USD January 2 at 11:30 GMT

XAU/USD 1181.98 H: 1188.24 L: 1180.63

XAU/USD Technical

• XAU/USD has shown limited movement in the Asian and European sessions.
• 1200 is an immediate resistance line. 1215 is next.
• On the downside, 1175 is under pressure. 1156 is stronger.
• Current range: 1175 to 1200

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1175, 1156, 1130 and 1111
• Above: 1200, 1215, 1240, 1255 and 1275

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

XAU/USD is almost unchanged on Friday. This is consistent with the lack of movement we’re seeing from the pair. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards gold breaking above range and moving to higher ground.

XAU/USD Fundamentals

• 14:45 US Final Manufacturing PMI. Estimate 54.1 points.
• 15:00 US ISM Manufacturing PMI. Estimate 57.6 points.
• 15:00 US Construction Spending. Estimate 0.4%.
• 15:00 US ISM Manufacturing Prices. Estimate 43.1 points.

*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.