Gold rose on Friday, erasing some of the previous session’s losses. The yellow metal is currently awaiting further positive momentum to break above the daily pivot point at $4482, if it manages to do so, it could rise toward resistance levels at $4610 then $4700. On the downside, if the price settles below the aforementioned pivot point, it is likely to test support levels at $4317 then $4220.
Gold inched up on Friday, but was on track for a fourth straight weekly decline as surging energy prices fuelled inflation concerns and raised expectations of higher global interest rates.
Market Watch
US delays Iran Hormuz deadline
Trump extended to April 6 his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy infrastructure, the U.S. has also sent thousands of troops to the Middle East, with Trump weighing whether to use ground forces to seize Iran’s strategic oil hub of Kharg Island.
An Iranian official told Reuters that a 15-point U.S. proposal, conveyed to Tehran by Pakistan, was “one-sided and unfair”.
Dollar holds firm as US labor market stabilizes
The dollar hovered near multi-month peaks on Friday as investors sought safety in the shadow of an intensifying Middle East war and mounting doubts over any path to de-escalation.
New applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, suggesting the labor market remains stable and likely giving the Federal Reserve scope to hold interest rates steady while monitoring inflation risks from the conflict in the Middle East.
Markets expect steady US rates until September
The Federal Reserve will keep U.S. interest rates on hold until September, according to economists in a Reuters poll who are still clinging to expectations for at least one reduction later this year, despite worries about inflation from war in the Middle East.
Financial markets have priced out any chance of a cut this year and added nearly a 30% chance of a hike as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, now in its fourth week, has pushed up crude oil prices more than 40%.
Looking Ahead
Markets are closely watching U.S. Consumer Sentiment at 14:00 GMT, Which could influence gold prices.