The troy ounce of the precious metal closed the week virtually unchanged near $1,730 after staging a decisive rebound in the second half of the week. Although the XAU/USD pair seems to be struggling to find direction since surging to fresh multi-year highs at $1,765 earlier in May, next week’s key macroeconomic events could change that.
Coming up next week
On Monday, the IHS Markit will release the final reading of May Manufacturing PMI data for China, Germany, the eurozone, Canada and the United States. Later in the day, the ISM’s Manufacturing PMI from the US will be featured in the economic docket as well. If these data show the positive impact of reopenings on the manufacturing sector, risk-on flows could weigh on gold.
On Wednesday, the IHS Markit will publish the final version of Services PMI data for China, Germany, the eurozone and the United States. Unemployment Rate figures for Germany and the euro area will be released during the European session.
On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) will announce its interest rate decision and publish the monetary policy statement. If the ECB expands its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) we could see a positive reaction in global stock markets, which could make it difficult for gold to find demand as a safe-haven.
On Friday, the Nonfarm Payroll Report (NFP) from the US will be watched closely by the market participants.