- SWFX traders are 51% bearish
- 51.32% of pending commands are to buy the bullion
- The metal's price started the day's trading at 1,267.11
- Upcoming Events: US Unemployment Claims; ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
The decline of the bullion, as expected, continued during early hours of Thursday's trading. At the set pace the price of gold is likely going to fall as low as 1,252 level, where a strong support cluster begins.
ADP reported that non-farm sectors added 178K jobs in July, the second weakest change this year, compared with the upwardly-revised 191K increase in the previous month. According to the report, a slight fall in manufacturing jobs was offset by higher employment for service-related positions. Figures suggested that job creation remained strong enough to see the economy nearing to full employment. However, preliminary data is unlikely to determine the current condition of the US labour market, as the official report is set to come in on Friday.
Two notable US data sets
During Thursday's trading session there are two data releases to look at, if one wants to see fundamental changes from the US Dollar's perspective. At 12:30 GMT the US Unemployment Claims will be published. Later in the day, at 14:00 GMT the ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI is set to be published. However, it is not expected by the Dukascopy Research team that these data releases will cause a notable reaction in the financial markets.
XAU/USD finds support level at 1,261.94
In the second half of Wednesday the Greenback appreciated against all major currencies, including the gold. Most probably, it was related to the sanctions bill as well as high earnings posted by large American companies. In any case, the downside momentum was strong enough to drive the pair through the bottom trend-line of an ascending channel. Fortunately for the yellow metal, the barrier set up by the weekly PP at 1,261.94 and that became additionally secured by the approached 200-hour SMA managed to stop the downfall and even forced the pair to make a rebound. As a result, today the bullion will try to get back into formation, break through the 55- and 100-hour SMAS and try to reach the 1,272.24 level. Various technical indicators support this scenario, pointing out the pair is oversold.
Hourly Chart
On the daily chart various notable clues can be observed. First of all, the closest support to the pair is the weekly S1 at 1,252.56, which is the first support level in a stronger cluster. The cluster consists of the dominant ascending channel's lower trend line and the 55 and 100-day SMAs. Due to that reason it is expected that the rebound will occur against this cluster of significance.Daily Chart
SWFX traders bounce around neutral zone.
Traders of Dukascopy remain in the neutral zone, as 51% of open positions are short. Meanwhile, the bulls have retreated in regards to the set up order proportion, as 51% of set up orders are to buy the metal, compared to 62% two days ago.
OANDA Gold traders have decreased their bullish outlook, as open positions are 56% long, compared to 65% on Wednesday. In the meantime, SAXO bank sentiment is 56% bullish.