Gold continues to have quiet week

It’s been an uneventful week for gold and that trend has continued in the Thursday session. In North American trade, the spot price for one ounce of gold is $1292.12, down 0.11% on the day. In economic news, unemployment claims dropped to 213 thousand, below the forecast of 219 thousand. This marked a 5-week low. On the manufacturing front, the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index jumped to 17.0, crushing the estimate of 9.7 points. On Friday, the U.S. releases UoM Consumer Sentiment.

The Federal Reserve is always under the watchful eye of investors, but the quarterly Beige Book release usually falls under the radar. However, the U.S government shutdown has disrupted the flow of government economic numbers, so the Beige Book for Q4, released on Wednesday, has received more than the usual scrutiny. The report found that businesses across the U.S had become less optimistic, due to higher interest rates, swings in the financial markets and global trade tensions. At the same time, most of the regional Feds noted that growth in their region was “modest to moderate”. The report reiterates the recent dovish stance we are seeing from the Federal Reserve, which has sent strong signals to the markets that rate hikes will likely be on hold for the near future.

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XAU/USD Fundamentals

Thursday (January 17)

• 8:30 US Philly Fed Manufacturing Index. Estimate 9.7. Actual 17.0
  
• 8:30 US Unemployment Claims. Estimate 219K. Actual 213K
• 10:30 US Natural Gas Storage. Estimate -73B
• 10:45 US FOMC Member Quarles Speaks

Friday (January 18)

• 10:00 US Preliminary UoM Consumer Sentiment. Estimate 97.0

*All release times are EST

*Key events are in bold

XAU/USD for Thursday, January 17, 2019

XAU/USD January 17 at 11:25 EST

Open: 1293.66 High: 1295.43 Low: 1288.85 Close: 1292.31

XAU/USD Technical

XAU/USD showed limited movement in the Asian session. In European trade, the pair edged higher but then gave up these gains. XAU/USD has posted considerable gains in the North American session.

• 1284 is providing support
• 1306 is the next resistance line
• Current range: 1284 to 1306

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1284, 1261, 1236 and 1220
• Above: 1306, 1326 and 1355

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.