Gold (XAUUSD), Silver, Platinum Forecasts – Gold Rebounds As Non Farm Payrolls Miss Estimates

Gold Gains Ground As Traders Focus On U.S. Jobs Report

Gold rebounds as traders stay focused on the developments in the Middle East and react to U.S. job market data.

President Trump said that he wanted Iran to surrender and ruled out negotiations. As a result, traders continued to prepare for a lengthy conflict.

The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and Brent oil prices rallied above the $93.00 level. Demand for safe-haven assets increased, but gold did not benefit from such demand in recent trading sessions.

Today, U.S. released Non Farm Payrolls report which showed that U.S. economy lost -92,000 jobs in February. The yield of 2-year Treasuries pulled back towards the 3.55% level as traders reacted to weak job market data.

Falling Treasury yields are bullish for gold and other precious metals that pay no interest. From a big picture point of view, the potential weakness of the U.S. economy may serve as an additional bullish catalyst for gold as Fed could be forced to cut rates to provide additional support to the economy.

That said, it is not clear whether Fed will be able to cut rates in case the economy starts to slow down as oil prices continue to rise. The recent spike in energy prices will surely lead to higher inflation in the short term.

In case Middle East conflict lasts for several months, the impact would be huge. Few analysts talk about a potential months-long conflict, but this possibility should not be ruled out.

From the technical point of view, gold is stuck near the support level at $5100 – $5120. In case gold settles above this level, it will move towards the resistance, which is located in the $5430 – $5450 range.

On the support side, a move below the $5100 level will open the way to the test of the next support at $4880 – $4900.

Silver Moves Higher As Treasury Yields Pull Back

Silver gained ground, supported by weak U.S. job market data. U.S. Unemployment Rate increased from 4.3% in January to 4.4% in February, which was bullish for silver.

Most likely, traders will remain worried that war in the Middle East will have a material impact on global economy and hurt demand for silver.

Silver settled below the key resistance level at $86.00 – $87.00. If silver manages to settle above the $87.00 level, it will move towards the next resistance at $95.00 – $96.00. On the support side, a move below the $78.00 level will provide silver with an opportunity to gain additional downside momentum.

Platinum Remains Stuck Near The $2100 Level

Platinum is swinging between gains and losses as traders try to evaluate the impact on recent geopolitical developments on demand for platinum. Palladium markets are also swinging between gains and losses in today’s trading session.

Interestingly, the huge rally in the oil markets did not put pressure on platinum prices today. It looks that platinum traders are not ready for big moves ahead of the weekend.

The technical picture remains unchanged as platinum managed to stay above the nearest support at $2040 – $2060. If platinum climbs above the $2150 level, it will move towards the resistance level, which is located in the $2245 – $2265 range.

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