MarketPulse | Mar 06, 2019 12:01AM ET
Gold continues to lose ground, as the metal has recorded four straight losing days. In Tuesday’s North American session, the spot price for one ounce of gold is $1283.72, down 0.23% on the day. It has been a miserable March for gold, which has declined 2.2%, and the metal has dropped to its lowest level since late January. On the fundamental front, ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI improved sharply to 59.7 points, up from 56.7 in the previous release. This marked a 3-month high. New Home Sales slipped to 621 thousand but managed to beat the forecast of 597 thousand. On Wednesday, the U.S. releases ADP nonfarm payrolls.
The trade war between the U.S. and China may not be over, but there are clear signs that tensions between the two super-economies have eased considerably. Growing risk appetite has been bad news for gold, as the safe-haven asset thrives at periods of uncertainty and handwringing. If the positive momentum continues, President Trump and Chinese President Xi could sign a trade agreement in late March. Still, it’s unclear what the agreement will look like, as the sides have been very tight-lipped. Investors will be most concerned as to whether U.S. tariffs on Chinese products would be eliminated immediately or phased out over time. If speculation rises that a breakthrough is imminent, gold will continue to look less unattractive to investors open to risk.
The focus will be on U.S. employment numbers for the remainder of the week, starting with ADP nonfarm payrolls on Wednesday. Analysts are expecting mixed numbers on Friday. Wage growth is expected to improve to 0.3%, but nonfarm payrolls are projected to slide to 185 thousand, after a strong gain of 304 thousand in the previous release. The unemployment rate has been at record lows and is expected to dip to a sizzling 3.9% in the February report.
XAU/USD Fundamentals
Tuesday (March 5)
Wednesday (March 6)
*All release times are EST
*Key events are in bold
XAU/USD for Tuesday, March 5, 2019
XAU/USD March 5 at 12:15 EST
Open: 1293.31 High: 1297.12 Low: 1382.95 Close: 1288.58
XAU/USD Technical
S3 | S2 | S1 | R1 | R2 | R3 |
1243 | 1261 | 1284 | 1306 | 1326 | 1344 |
XAU/USD posted slight gains in the Asian session but retracted in European trade. The pair has edged lower in North American trade
Further levels in both directions:
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.