- US Dollar Index stays in red following US data releases.
- Wall Street starts the day modestly higher.
- Coming up: US President Trump will deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly.
After closing the previous day below the critical $1200 mark, the XAU/USD pair is taking advantage of the dollar weakness and staging a modest recovery on Tuesday. As of writing, the pair was up $3.5, or 0.3%, on the day at $1202.30.
The US Dollar Index, which was able to retrace its daily losses and close flat above 94 on Monday, is staying relatively quiet on Tuesday as investors are gearing up for tomorrow’s FOMC meeting. Today’s data from the U.S. showed that the business activity in the non-manufacturing sector in the Philadelphia area expanded at a slower pace in September than it did in August. Meanwhile, the FHFA’s Housing Price Index showed a 0.2% increase on a monthly in July to match the markets’ expectations. At the moment, the index is down 0.2% on the day at 94.07.
Although Peter Navarro, Director of the National Trade Council at the White House, said that President Trump would impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports if Beijing were to retaliate, major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day modestly higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 adding 0.15% and 0.05%, respectively, at the time of press. The improved market sentiment in the remainder of the day could make it difficult for the safe-haven precious metal to continue to gather strength against the dollar.
Later in the day, President Trump is scheduled to deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly, and his comments could impact the risk perception and cause the pair to react.
Technical levels to consider
$1200 (psychological level) aligns as the initial support ahead of $1191 (Sep. 21 low) and $1183 (Aug. 24 low). On the upside, resistances could be seen at $1204 (Sep. 24 high), $1210 (Sep. 21 high) and $1217 (Aug. 10 high).