Gold moves higher as investors remain jittery after stock market plunge

Gold has posted gains in the Wednesday session. In North American trade, the spot price for one ounce of gold is $1227.08, up 0.43% on the day. On the release front, U.S numbers were a disappointment. Core durable goods orders remained pegged at 0.1%, shy of the estimate of 0.4%. Durable goods orders were dismal, with a sharp decline of 4.4%, compared to the estimate of -2.2%. This was the sharpest drop since August 2017. Unemployment claims jumped to 225 thousand, above the estimate of 214 thousand and a 4-month high. As well, UoM consumer confidence dipped to 97.5, short of the estimate of 98.4 points.

A sharp fall in technological stocks on Wednesday has sent global equity markets sharply lower this week. Gold has responded with modest gains, but investors have not ditched the dollar and flocked to the safe-haven base metal. Much of the drop in global equity markets has been attributed to the festering U.S-China trade war, which shows no signs of easing. There had been hopes that the U.S might ease up on the rhetoric against China, but those hopes were dashed on Sunday, at an APEC summit in Papua New Guinea. The meeting ended in discord, with leaders unable to agree on a final communique. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who headed the U.S. delegation, was blunt in his remarks, saying that China would have to drastically change its trade practices before the U.S. would remove current tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods.

XAU/USD Fundamentals

Wednesday (November 21)

• 8:30 US Core Durable Goods Orders. Estimate 0.4%. Actual 0.1%
• 8:30 US Durable Goods Orders. Estimate -2.2%. Actual -4.4%
• 8:30 US Unemployment Claims. Estimate 215K. Actual 224K
• 10:00 US Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment. Estimate 98.4. Actual 97.5
• 10:00 US CB Leading Index. Estimate 0.2%. Actual 0.1%
• 10:00 US Existing Home Sales. Estimate 5.20M. Actual 5.22M
• 10:00 US Revised UoM Inflation Expectations. Actual 2.8%
• 10:30 US Crude Oil Inventories. Estimate 2.5M
• 12:00 US Natural Gas Storage. Estimate 105B

*All release times are EST

*Key events are in bold

XAU/USD for Wednesday, November 21, 2018

XAU/USD November 21 at 11:30 EST

Open: 1221.62 High: 1230.00 Low: 1219.87 Close: 1227.10

XAU/USD Technical

XAU/USD showed limited movement in the Asian session. The pair posted slight gains in the European session and this trend has continued in North American trade

• 1220 is providing support
• 1236 is the next resistance line
• Current range: 1220 to 1236

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1220, 1204, 1170 and 1146
• Above: 1236, 1261 and 1284

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