Author: Sir Amar

Gold prices stabilized around a multi-month high on Friday as markets fell ahead of the reopening of key US jobs data. Metals markets posted strong gains this week after the US Federal Reserve said had signaled the central bank will raise interest rates more slowly in the coming months. Precious metals, which have been pressured by a sharp hike in interest rates this year, have been the main beneficiaries of this rally. Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1800.96 an ounce but held near a three-month high amid gold futures traded near $1814.70 an ounce – the strongest level in five months.

Both instruments should be up about 3% this week. Now the focus is on the USA. US nonfarm payrolls (NFP) data is due out later today and should show that the labor market cooled slightly in November. But the sector has remained strong this year, and the Federal Reserve said it will seek a more dovish stance in the area as policy is tightened. Any unexpected sign of strength in the jobs market gives the Fed enough momentum to continue raising interest rates, a scenario that is negative for markets. While the Fed President, Jerome Powell, signaled a cut in interest rates in the coming months and also warned that US interest rates are likely to be higher than expected due to persistent inflation. This stifled some enthusiasm in risk-driven markets.

Nevertheless, the previous monthly high around $1787 puts the brakes on the yellow metal’s immediate plunge before highlighting the confluence of support at $1757 – $1755, which includes the November 15th resistance line leading to the Support was. After that, 2-month horizontal support near $1730 could serve as a last defense for gold buyers. Alternatively, a resistance line with upslope from early October joins the upper mark in August to highlight $1807 as a key hurdle in the north.