Gold Quiet as US Markets Closed for Thanksgiving

Gold is showing little movement in the Thursday session. In North American trading, the spot price for an ounce of gold is $1291.23, down 0.08% on the day. U.S markets are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, and there are no U.S events on the calendar.

Federal Reserve policymakers remain upbeat about the U.S economy, according to the minutes of the most recent policy meeting. The minutes, released on Wednesday, indicated that policymakers expected the U.S economy to continue showing strong growth, and predicted that interest rates will be raised in the “near term”. The members discussed the vexing question of why inflation has been persistently low (no quick-fix solution was provided), with most agreeing that a tight labor market should lead to higher inflation levels. Although policymakers did not provide further hints about the timetable of a rate hike, the markets remain convinced that additional rates are imminent. The odds of a rate hike in December are 91%, and the odds a January raise are at 89%.

Investors continue to monitor President Trump’s tax reform bill as it winds it way through Congress. Gold prices have been fluctuating since the House passed a tax bill last week, and traders can expect the movement to continue when the Senate votes on its version of the bill after Thanksgiving. Gold prices started the week with considerable losses, but then reversed directions and posted gains on Tuesday and Wednesday. If Congress does succeed in enacting a new tax code, the US dollar could make strong gains, at the expense of gold.

XAU/USD Fundamentals

Thursday (November 23)

• There are no U.S events

*All release times are GMT

*Key events are in bold

XAU/USD for Thursday, November 23, 2017

XAU/USD November 23 at 12:25 EST

Open: 1292.21 High: 1293.71 Low: 1287.13 Close: 1291.23

XAU/USD Technical

• XAU/USD inched higher in the Asian session. The pair has posted gains in European and North American sessions
• 1285 is a weak support line
• 1307 is the next resistance line
• Current range: 1285 to 1307

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1285, 1260, 1240 and 1213
• Above: 1307, 1337 and 1367

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

XAU/USD ratio is showing movement towards long positions. Currently, long positions have a majority (72%), indicative of trader bias towards XAU/USD continuing to move to higher ground.

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.