- SWFX traders are 52% bullish
- 60% of pending commands are to buy the metal
- The bullion opened at 1,205.65
- Upcoming Events: ECB President's Mario Draghi's speech
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, official figures showed on Thursday. The US Department of Labour reported initial jobless claims rose to 243,000 in the week ended March 3, up from the preceding week's record low of 223,000. Meanwhile, market analysts expected claims would climb to 239,000 claims during the reported week. Last week marked the 105th consecutive week of claims below the benchmark 300,000 level. Analysts state that the US economy is at or near full employment, with companies struggling to find qualified candidates for job openings.
The strong performance of the labour market and rising inflation would probably force the Federal Reserve to raise rates at its next meeting on March 15. The Labour Department said there were no special factors influencing claims data. The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a better measure of the labour market trends, advanced 2,250 to 236,500 last week. Thursday's report also showed continuous jobless claims dropped 6,000 to 2.06 million in the week ending February 25, while their four-week moving average fell 5,250 to 2.07 million. The US Dollar traded little changed after the release, as investors awaited Friday's NFP report.
Upcoming events: Mario Draghi
There is only one event scheduled to occur during Monday's trading session, and it is most likely to affect all of the markets on a larger scale than any macroeconomic data release. The event will be the speech of Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank. He is set to start speaking at 13:30 GMT, as he outlines the future of the Euro Zone's monetary policy.
Gold continues to rebound
Daily chart: During the early hours of Monday's trading session the yellow metal's price had surged above the 1,210 mark, as the bullion continued the course of regaining its losses. The commodity price managed to pass a resistance cluster just below the 1,210 level, and the metal faced only the weekly PP at 1,211.87. The weekly PP is the last resistance level before the 1,219.20 mark, where the 38.20% Fibonacci retracement level is located at. Due to these factors combined, it is expected that the cluster below will provide enough support to push the metal's price higher.Daily chart
Hourly chart: The hourly chart shows that the medium term descending channel pattern has been broken. The break out did not occurred without hindrance, as the channel's upper trend line put up a fight for four hours. On the other hand the hourly chart shows that the hourly SMAs are located below the commodity price, and they will not slow down the surge of the metal in the near future.
Hourly chart
Traders are bullish
OANDA Gold traders have increased their bullish outlook, as open positions are 72.28% long on Monday, compared to 65.07% previously. Meanwhile, traders of SAXO bank have decreased their bullish outlook, as 62.53% of open positions are long, compared to 68.12% on Friday.