Gold futures are inching higher late in the session on Friday after recovering from an early loss. The move was fueled by an intraday break in the U.S. Dollar as traders sold out of safe-haven positions, following the release of stronger-than-expected U.S. labor market data.
Nonetheless, gold is still in a position to post a more than 3% loss for the week, as traders continued to bet on a series of aggressive rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
At 19:00 GMT, August Comex gold futures are trading $1740.30, up $0.60 or +0.03%. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) is at $162.33, up $0.10 or +0.06%.
In economic news, the Labor Department reported Non-Farm Payrolls employment jumped by 372,000 jobs in June after surging by a revised 384,000 jobs in May. Economists were looking for a 260,000 increase.
The Unemployment Rate remained at 3.6%, matching expectations. Average Hourly Earnings rose 0.3%, meeting the estimate, while the previous month was revised higher to 0.4%.
Short-Term Outlook
Trader reaction to $1739.70 is likely to determine the direction of the August Comex gold futures contract into the close on Friday.
Bullish Scenario
A sustained move over $1739.70 will indicate the presence of buyers. A close over this level will form a potentially bullish closing price reversal bottom. If confirmed on Monday, this could trigger the start of a 2 to 3 day counter-trend rally.
Bearish Scenario
A sustained move under $1739.70 will signal the presence of sellers. This could trigger a late session break into the intraday low at $1726.00. Taking out this level could trigger the start of an acceleration to the downside with the March 8, 2021 main bottom at $1694.90 the next major target.
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.
This article was originally posted on FX Empire
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Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-price-futures-gc-technical-190036022.html