Gold Price Prediction – Prices Consolidate as the Dollar Falls

Gold prices consolidated, attempting mid-day to test higher levels but were rejected near resistance. The yellow metal move came despite a drop in the dollar index and easing US Treasury yields. Employers added slightly more job posts late last year in the United States, but hiring slipped as the labor market ended 2020 on an uncertain note.

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Technical analysis

Gold prices attempted to move higher but ran into resistance near the 50-day moving average at 1,856. Short-term support is seen near the 10-day moving average at 1,834. Short-term momentum has turned positive as the fast stochastic generated a crossover buy signal. Medium-term negative momentum is decelerating as the MACD (moving average convergence divergence) histogram is printing in negative territory with a rising trajectory, which points to consolidation.

JOLTS Report Shows Job Openings Increased

The Labor Department reported that total openings increased to 6.65 million in December, better than the 6.6 million estimates. That left a gap of some 4.1 million workers who remained unemployed, many of whom lost jobs during the pandemic. Vacancies rose by nearly 300,000 in professional and business services, which saw its openings rate swell from 5.6% to 6.9%. Available positions fell in leisure and hospitality, which dropped by 127,000 to 761,000 for the month. Hiring fell sharply for the month, down nearly 400,000 to 5.54 million.