Gold off lows, still in red below $1190 ahead of US ISM PMI

   “¢   A sudden fall in the USD provides a short-lived bounce in the last hour.
   “¢   Surging US bond yields/risk-on mood kept a lid on any meaningful up-move.

Gold faded a bullish spike back closer to session tops and might now be headed back towards the lower end of its daily trading range.  

A sudden fall in the US Dollar, triggered by a knee-jerk bullish spike in the British Pound, extended some support to the dollar-denominated commodity and was seen as one of the key factors behind the latest leg of uptick over the past hour or so.  

However, a combination of negative factors, ranging from a fresh wave of an upsurge in the US Treasury bond yields and the prevalent risk-on mood, weighed on the non-yielding yellow metal’s safe-haven status and kept a lid on any meaningful up-move.

The commodity now seems to have stabilized around the $1188 region as traders now look forward to the US economic docket, highlighting the release of ISM manufacturing PMI in order to grab some short-term opportunities.  

Moving ahead, this week’s important US macroeconomic releases, including the keenly watched monthly jobs report, popularly known as NFP, will play an important role in determining the commodity’s next leg of directional move.

Technical levels to watch

The $1192-93 region might continue to act as an immediate resistance, above which the commodity is likely to aim towards reclaiming the key $1200 psychological mark. On the flip side, the $1185 area might continue to protect the immediate downside, which if broken might turn the metal vulnerable to head back towards testing the recent closing lows support near the $1174 region.