Gold opened today’s trading on a notable rise as it held above the upper line of the breached bullish channel, noting that the price is awaiting further positive momentum to resume its main upward march in the near term.

Gold is currently trading near the first weekly resistance level at $3483, where it is looking for a break above to maintain its bullish trend and hitting a new record high towards the second resistance level at $3520.

If gold fails to maintain their trading above the upper line of the bullish price channel, it will lose its positive momentum and will probably retest the weekly pivot point at $3417. A stability below the aforesaid pivot point could pave the way for a retreat towards $3381 then $3315. 

The yellow metal rose more than 1% today to trade near its historic high of $3500. One of the reasons for the significant rise in gold is analysts’ expectations that the U.S Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25 basis points this month.

The dollar’s weakness is another factor contributing to the rise in gold prices, as the dollar index fell 0.2% on Monday to trade at its lowest level in more than a month at 97.536.

It is worth mentioning that the greenback has been under pressure due to the conflict between Donald Trump and Fed Governor Lisa Cook, which signaled worries about the Fed’s independence, particularly in deciding on interest rates.

As for this week, markets will pay close attention to the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for August. Economists expect a slight increase in the hiring pace to 74,000 from 73,000 in July.

Any significant improvement or deterioration in the jobs report is likely to affect the Fed’s interest rate decision on September 16-17 policy meeting, as it could either endorse the highly anticipated 25-basis-point rate cut or even trigger an outsized 50-basis-point reduction.