Gold prices are up slightly on Thursday, as the metal is trading at a spot price of $1220.58. On the release front, there are two key releases on the calendar – Unemployment Claims and the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index. The markets are expecting stronger readings from both indicators.
There is an agreement in sight between Greece and its creditors? Eurozone finance ministers were unable to draft an agreement on Monday, but the finance ministers will try again on Friday. Greece has apparently requested an extension of the bailout, which expires next week. However, the details of the request are not clear, and the parties will likely conduct tough negotiations at the Friday meeting. The stakes are high, since if the bailout does not continue, Greece could be forced to leave the eurozone and abandon the euro.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its previous policy meeting. The minutes were decidedly dovish in nature, as Fed policymakers raised concerns that a mid-year rate hike could hurt the economic recovery. The Fed also said it was worried about the impact of global events on the US economy, such as the slowdown in China and the Greek financial crisis. With US inflation at low levels, the Fed is not in any rush to raise rates, so speculation of a mid-year rate may have been premature.
XAU/USD for Thursday, February 19, 2015
XAU/USD 1220.58 H: 1223.15 L: 1213.02
XAU/USD Technicals:
| S3 | S2 | S1 | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| 1175 | 1200 | 1215 | 1240 | 1255 | 1275 |
- XAU/USD has posted small gains in the Asian and European sessions.
- 1240 is a strong resistance line.
- 1215 is under pressure and could see further action during the North American session.
- Current range: 1215 to 1240
Further levels in both directions:
- Below: 1215, 1200, 1175, 1154 and 1131
- Above: 1240, 1255, 1275 and 1300
XAU/USD ratio is pointing to gains in short positions on Thursday, reversing the direction seen a day earlier. This is not consistent with the pair’s movement, as gold has posted small losses. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicating trader bias towards gold moving to higher ground.
XAU/USD Fundamentals
- 13:30 US Unemployment Claims. Estimate 293K.
- 15:00 US Philly Fed Manufacturing Index. Estimate 8.8 points.
- 15:00 US CB Leading Index. Estimate 0.4%.
- 15:30 US Natural Gas Storage. Estimate -110B.
- 16:00 US Crude Oil Inventories. Estimate -1.8M.
*Key releases are highlighted in bold
*All release times are GMT
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