Gold Calm At Start of Week

Gold had an uneventful week and the trend continues on Monday. In the European session, the spot price stands at $1219.81 per ounce. On the release front, today’s highlight is Pending Home Sales. After a sharp gain of 3.3% in July, the markets are braced for a sharp downturn, with an estimate of -0.4%.

On Thursday, the euro lost ground after ECB head Mario Draghi spoke in Lithuania. Draghi reiterated that the ECB stood prepared to implement additional unconventional steps if prolonged low inflation levels did not rise. Draghi acknowledged that summer economic data was weaker than expected, but said the central bank forecast modest growth in the Eurozone in Q3 and Q4. Lithuania is set to join the Eurozone in January and will become the 19th member of the Euro region. Lithuania is set to join the Eurozone in January and will become the 19th member of the Euro region.

In the US, Core Durable Goods Orders posted a strong gain of +0.7%, bouncing back from the previous reading of -0.8%. Durable Goods Orders continues to take its riders on a roller coaster ride, plunging 18.2% in August, compared to a huge gain of 22.6% a month earlier. Unemployment Claims rose to 293 thousand, within expectations.

XAU/USD for Monday, September 29, 2014

XAU/USD September 29 at 12:35 GMT

XAU/USD 1219.81 H: 1220.94 L: 1215.25

XAU/USD Technical

• XAU/USD has shown little movement in the Asian and European sessions.
• 1210 is an immediate support level. 1186 is stronger.
• 1240 is the next resistance line. This is followed by resistance at 1252.
• Current range: 1210 to 1240.

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1210, 1186, 1156 and 1111
• Above: 1240, 1252, 1275 and 1300

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

XAU/USD ratio has a substantial majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards gold breaking out of range and moving higher.

XAU/USD Fundamentals

• 12:30 US Core PCE Price Index. Estimate 0.0%.
• 12:30 US Personal Spending. Estimate 0.5%.
• 12:30 US Personal Income. Estimate 0.3%.
• 14:00 US Pending Home Sales. Estimate -0.4%.

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

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.