XAU/USD – JOLTS Job Openings Dips but Gold Unchanged

Gold is steady in the Tuesday session, after starting the week with slight gains. In North American trade, the spot price for one ounce is $1183.30. On the release front, today’s key event was JOLTS Jobs Openings. The indicator edged lower to 5.52 million, shy of the estimate of 5.59 million.

Gold has looked sharp early in the New Year, posting gains of 3.0% early in 2017. Will the positive trend continue? The incoming Trump administration is certain to shake things up in Washington, but it’s still unclear what economic policies Trump will actually implement. If the US economy continues to expand, the Fed might have to step in with further interest rates, which would likely hurt weaken gold prices. At the same time, the uncertainty surrounding Trump could lessen investor appetite and boost gold. With Trump taking over the presidency on January 20, traders should be prepared for some volatility in the coming weeks.

The US released a host of employment numbers on Friday. Although the numbers were mixed, the markets responded with a thumbs-up, boosting the US dollar and sending gold prices lower. Wages rebounded in December, as Average Hourly Earnings climbed 0.4%, edging above the estimate of 0.3%. This marked a strong turnaround after the November reading of -0.1%. The news was not as bright from Nonfarm Payrolls, which dropped to 156 thousand, well off the estimate of 175 thousand.

XAU/USD Fundamentals

Tuesday (January 10)

• 6:00 NFIB Small Business Index. Estimate 99.6. Actual 105.8
• 10:00 JOLTS Job Openings. Estimate 5.59M. Actual 5.52M
• 10:00 Final Wholesale Inventories. Estimate 0.9%. Actual 0.2%

*All release times are EST

* Key events are in bold

XAU/USD for Tuesday, January 10, 2017

XAU/USD January 10 at 13:10 EST

Open: 1183.57 High: 1190.54 Low: 1180.15 Close: 1184.28

XAU/USD Technical

• XAU/USD posted small gains in the Asian session and was flat in European trade. The pair posted gains in the North American session but was unable to consolidate and headed lower
• 1174 is providing support
•  1199 is the next line of resistance
• Current range: 1174 to 1199

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1174, 1146, 1130, and 1111
• Above: 1199 and 1232 and 1260

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

XAU/USD ratio is showing little movement in the Tuesday session. Currently, long positions command a strong majority (78%). This is indicative of trader bias towards XAU/USD breaking out and climbing to higher levels.

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