Gold prices (XAU/USD) struggled to defend their first daily gains in six days at their lowest levels in more than a week, as market participants looked for more clues to defend their previous bearish bias on gold and silver. In the process, Gold/USD traders re-evaluated the latest U.S. (US) data and cues from the Federal Reserve (Fed) as hopes arose to see a soft landing for the U.S. economy despite rising interest rates. That, along with worries about a slowdown in other major countries, has driven a stronger dollar and put downward pressure on gold prices.
Elsewhere, serious concerns about China, one of the world’s largest gold customers, coupled with the Sino-US trade friction and upbeat yields, also made it more difficult for gold/USD to rebound.
Still, a week-long hiatus from European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers and possible improvement in U.S. secondary employment cues look set to make today’s Fed talks a key catalyst.
Gold Prices: Key Price Levels to Watch
Our technical confluence indicator shows that gold prices are pushing towards the lower limit of the short-term trading range after a five-day losing streak, while playing down the bearish bias. Still, XAU/USD remains within a strong trading range between $1,935 and $1,915, despite falling in recent days.
The middle track of the daily Bollinger Band and the monthly 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level strengthen the key support of $1,915.
Conversely, the monthly 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level at $1,935 is an important upside obstacle for buyers.
It is worth noting that the middle track of the Bollinger Bands and the 50-day moving average on the four-hour chart highlight $1,930-31 as additional resistance to the north.
Likewise, immediate support is provided by the confluence of the 200-day moving average with weekly pivot support level 1 and the daily 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level at $1,918.
It is worth noting that the confluence of the weekly 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level and the daily 161.8% Fibonacci retracement level around $1,938 is an additional resistance to the upside, which will then lead gold buyers towards the $1,950 mark. .
Meanwhile, the monthly 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level leads gold/dollar sellers towards $1,905, which then leads them towards weekly pivot support level 2 and monthly pivot support level 1, near $1,895.