Gold Steady at Start of Week

Gold is steady at Monday, as the metal trades at a spot price of $1190.25 per ounce in the European session. It’s a quiet start to the new trading week, with one minor release, Total Vehicle Sales. As well, FOMC Member John Williams will speak at an event in Boston. The US dollar has enjoyed broad gains against its major rivals, and gold has had difficulty staying above the $1200 level since mid-December. Will the dollar continue to push gold to lower levels?

On Friday, US ISM Manufacturing PMI disappointed, falling to 55.5 points. This missed the forecast of 57.6 points and marked a 6-month low for the index. Still, market sentiment remains positive regarding the US economy, and the US dollar continues to look sharp against its major rivals. We’ll get a look at the ISM Non-manufacturing PMI on Tuesday. The markets are expecting a softer reading in the December release.

XAU/USD for Monday, January 5, 2015

XAU/USD January 5 at 12:30 GMT

XAU/USD 1190.25 H: 1197.81 L: 1182.85

XAU/USD Technical

• XAU/USD edged higher in the Asian session but has retracted in the European session.
• 1200 is a weak resistance line. 1215 is next.
• 1175 is an immediate support level.
• 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 Monday. 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

• 13:00 US FOMC Member John Williams Speaks.
• All Day – US Total Vehicle Sales. Estimate 16.9M.

*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.