Gold climbs to fresh weekly tops, above $1465 level

• US-China trade uncertainty continued benefitting traditional safe-haven assets.
• Weaker US bond yields undermined the USD demand and remained supportive.
• Investors now look forward to Fedspeaks for some meaningful trading impetus.

Gold edged higher through the early European session on Thursday and is currently placed at the top end of its weekly trading range, around the $1466-67 region.
 
A report of a deadlock in the US-China trade negotiations added to the recent pessimism and continued weighing on investors’ sentiment, boosting demand for traditional safe-haven assets. The global flight to safety was seen benefitting the precious metal and driving it higher for the third consecutive session on Thursday.

Focus remains on trade developments

Against the backdrop of the US President Donald Trump’s not so optimism trade-related comments recently, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that negotiations have ‘hit a snag’ over farm purchases and further raised doubts over a preliminary trade deal between the world’s two largest economies.
 
Meanwhile, the risk-off mood was further reinforced by a mildly weaker tone around the US Treasury bond yields, which kept the US Dollar bulls on the defensive and provided any additional boost to the dollar-denominated commodity, though the uptick seemed to lack any strong bullish conviction.
 
Hence, it will be prudent to wait for some strong follow-through buying before confirming that the commodity might have bottomed out in the near-term. Market participants now look forward scheduled speeches by influential FOMC member for some meaningful trading opportunities around the non-yielding yellow metal.

Technical levels to watch