MarketPulse | Oct 18, 2017 01:17AM ET
Gold is down considerably in Tuesday trade. In the North American session, the spot price for an ounce of gold is $1284.70, down 0.80% on the day. On the release front, there are no major events out of the US for a second straight day. Import Prices gained 0.7%, beating the forecast of 0.6%.On Wednesday, the focus will be on housing data, with the release of Housing Starts and Building Permits.
Gold has lost ground this week, declining about 1.5 percent. The metal has been under pressure following reports that President Trump is leaning towards nominating economist John Taylor as the new head of the Federal Reserve. Taylor is considered more hawkish on policy than the current head, Janet Yellen, whose term expires in February 2018. A more hawkish Fed could be more inclined to raise interest rates early in 2018, despite weak inflation, which would strengthen the greenback against gold. Other candidates for the Fed Chair include current Fed Governor Jerome Powell and former Fed official Kevin Warsh.
Gold prices often move higher in response to geopolitical tensions, and the simmering dispute in Catalonia could be one such trouble spot. The constitutional conflict could worsen later this week, as the Spanish government seems intent on ending Catalonia’s bid for independence. Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy has insisted there will be no talks about independence with Catalan leaders, and has threatened to disband the Catalan parliament and impose direct rule from Madrid if Catalan President Carles Puigdemont does not recant his recent declaration of independence. The deepening crisis has led hundreds of companies to start leaving Catalonia, and the Standard and Poor’s rating agency has said that the region could face a recession if the situation is not resolved. Earlier this month, Spain’s economy minister said the uncertainty caused by the crisis had led to a freeze in investment projects in Catalonia. Investors are becoming more nervous about the crisis, and if the situation deteriorates, safe-haven gold could gain ground.
XAU/USD Fundamentals
Tuesday (October 17)
Wednesday (October 18)
*All release times are GMT
*Key events are in bold
XAU/USD for Tuesday, October 17, 2017
XAU/USD October 17 at 12:15 EST
Open: 1295.07 High: 1296.38 Low: 1281.42 Close: 1284.70
XAU/USD Technical
S3 | S2 | S1 | R1 | R2 | R3 |
1213 | 1240 | 1260 | 1285 | 1307 | 1337 |
Further levels in both directions:
OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio
XAU/USD ratio is showing movement towards short positions. Currently, long positions have a majority (62%), indicative of trader bias towards XAU/USD reversing its current slide and moving to higher ground.
Original post
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.