· Gold was little changed on Friday, having declined the most in two weeks in the previous session after strong U.S. economic data, but the metal’s losses were limited by falls in the dollar and Asian equities.
Spot gold was flat at $1,291.93 per ounce as of 0401 GMT, after touching a one-week low on Thursday. U.S. gold futures gained about 0.1 percent to $1,294.60 an ounce.
· “Market is holding tight ahead of the corporate earnings to know whether the economic conditions slowed in the first quarter and did it affect the corporate structure,” Phillip Futures analyst Benjamin Lu said.
“If earnings show stronger and better than expected results we might see gold stepping back a little further.”
· Asian shares turned lower ahead of the U.S. corporate earnings season as investor caution over the global growth outlook overcame some reassuring U.S. economic data.
· The dollar fell 0.2 percent against key rivals, paring most of the gains made in the previous session, and was en route its first weekly fall in four.
· Gold fell more than one percent in the previous session after reports showed that the weekly jobless claims in the United States fell to the lowest in nearly half a century and producer prices increased the most in five months in March.
· “The robust U.S. data triggered a tsunami of stop-loss order collapsing markets and blowing out virtually every weak bullish gold position,” said Stephen Innes, head of trading and market strategy at SPI Asset Management.
· However, the metal was broadly flat for the week, having risen to a two-week peak earlier this week due to dovish central banks and worries on global growth.
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its global economic growth forecasts for the year. The U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank maintained their dovish policy stance citing slowdown in global growth.
· Gold may end its bounce around a resistance at $1,297 per ounce, and then retest a support at $1,291, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
· GOLD TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Gold prices recoiled from a confluence of resistance in the 1303.70-09.12 area, marked by a chart inflection zone and a falling trend line set from late February. This puts neckline support at 1281.54 back in focus, with a daily close below that confirming the formation of a Head and Shoulders (H&S) top. The next layer of trend support is at 1258.57, but the H&S formation would imply a larger descent toward $1200/oz ahead.
· Among other precious metals, silver was flat at $14.96 an ounce and is down about 1 percent for the week.
Spot platinum gained about 0.5 percent to $892.08 per ounce, but is on track for its first weekly fall in five.
Palladium was up about 0.5 percent at $1,372.20 per ounce.
Reference: Reuters, Daily FX
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