Asia mid-session: Safe haven resurgence with Gold resuming bullish move

The US dollar extended its decline in today’s Asian session, with the US Dollar Index slipping -0.2% to 98.36—a five-day low—following a muted May CPI report. Core inflation came in at 2.8% y/y, below expectations of 2.9% and unchanged from April’s reading.

The Swiss franc and Japanese yen outperformed, each gaining 0.4% against the US dollar, supported by rising safe haven demand. In contrast, the Australian dollar weakened by -0.3%, pressured by risk-off sentiment after President Trump warned of unilateral tariffs on countries not engaged in trade talks, ahead of the 9 July deadline to reimpose broader tariffs.

Gold (XAU/USD), another traditional safe haven, jumped 1% yesterday after rebounding off its 20-day moving average on 9 June. It added another 0.5% today, reaching a seven-day high of US$3,370, as geopolitical tensions flared. The US ordered a partial evacuation of its embassy in Iraq amid fears Iran may target US military installations.

WTI crude oil surged 5.5% yesterday—its biggest single-day rally since 9 April—before encountering resistance at the 200-day moving average around US$69.15/barrel. Profit-taking emerged during today’s Asian session, despite news that US-Iran nuclear talks are still expected to proceed on Sunday.

Asian equity markets mirrored Wall Street’s negative tone overnight, where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both fell -0.4%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined -0.6% to 38,188, ending a four-day winning streak, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped -0.7% to 24,187 at the time of writing.

The price actions of Gold (XAU/USD) have managed to find support at the 20-day moving average since Monday, 9 June 2025, trimming intraday losses in the past three sessions.

Yesterday, the yellow metal rallied by 1% and cleared above a key near-term resistance at US$3,346, which indicates the potential end of its recent minor corrective decline phase from the 5 June high to the 9 June low (see Fig 2).

Watch the US$3,320 key short-term pivotal support (also the 20-day moving average), and a clearance above US$3,374 sees the next intermediate resistance zone coming in at US$3,417/3,435 (7/8 May swing high areas & Fibonacci extension level).

However, a break below US$3,320 key support negates the bullish tone for a corrective decline sequence to resurface to expose the next intermediate support at US$3,296/3,277 (also the 50-day moving average).