•Gold steadied near a four-month low on Friday, as comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reduced expectations of a near-term rate cut, putting bullion on track for a weekly fall.
Spot gold was unchanged at $1,270.71 per ounce as of 0139 GMT, having fallen to $1,265.85, its lowest since end-December, in the previous session.
Spot gold has fallen 1.2 percent so far this week.
U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,271.70 an ounce.
•The dollar looked set to end the week with a firmer tone on Friday as markets scaled back bets on a U.S. rate cut, though much depends on what jobs data due later in the session says about the health of the economy and wages.
•Asian share markets were subdued on Friday amid thin holiday trade as investors pared expectations for a U.S. rate cut this year.
•On Wednesday the U.S. Fed held interest rates steady with Chairman Jerome Powell further stating there was no need for any readjustment in prices anytime soon and that inflation risks were based on transitory factors.
•A slowing global economy, stock market turmoil, delays to interest rate rises and potential U.S. dollar weakness in future are expected to boost average annual gold prices to their highest since 2013, a Reuters poll found.
•SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.16 percent to 745.52 tonnes on Thursday from 746.69 tonnes on Wednesday.
•The total unmatured swap purchase amount will be 100 tonnes in the Turkish central bank’s new lira-for-gold swap market, according to a letter it sent to lenders, bankers told Reuters on Thursday.
•Harmony Gold Mining’s Nine-Month Total Gold Production Increased By 29 Pct To 33,673 kg.
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Gold Prices May Break 9-Month Uptrend on US Jobs Report
Gold prices continued to drift lower Thursday as US Dollar extended gains alongside Treasury bond yields, building on moves triggered by the prior day’s FOMC policy announcement. From here, all eyes turn to April’s US jobs report. A rise of 190k in nonfarm payrolls and a steady unemployment rate at 3.8 percent are expected. Wage inflation is seen firming to 3.3 percent on-year.
GOLD TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Gold prices remain perched atop support in the 1260.80-63.76 area. Breaking below that on a daily closing basis overturns the uptrend from mid-August, initially exposing the 1235.11-38.00 zone next. Immediate resistance is marked by the recently broken neckline of a Head and Shoulders (H&S) topping pattern, now at 1290.40. A move above that puts the $1300/oz figure in the crosshairs. The H&S setup implies a measured downside objective at 1215.00.
Reference : Reuters, Daily FX
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