Gold remains non-committal below $1,750 as traders refrain from placing any aggressive directional bets in the run-up to the all-important US Nonfarm Payrolls release, FXStreet’s Dhwani Mehta reports.

NFP holds the key  

“A slowdown in the US jobs creation alongside the wage growth could discourage the Fed to go on an all-out aggressive tightening spree. In such a case, the USD-price gold could catch fresh bids in an immediate reaction to the data release. Although a tighter labor market may justify the US central bank’s rapid and bigger rate-hike stance, reviving recession fears. The greenback is likely to remain in a win-win situation, irrespective of the NFP outcome.”

“The recovery in gold remains capped below $1,751, which is the 23.6% Fibonacci Retracement (Fibo) level of this week’s sell-off from $1,815 levels. Daily closing above the latter is required to initiate any meaningful recovery. Further up, the 38.2% Fibo level at $1,763 will challenge the bearish commitments. Powerful resistance at $1.770 will be the next stop for XAU bulls. That level is the confluence of the psychological mark and the 50% Fibo level of the same decline.”

“On the downside, the $1,732 will be the initial support, below which the rising channel target at $1,722 will come into play. A sustained move below the latter will expose the $1,700 threshold.”

See – NFP Preview: Forecasts from 10 major banks, labour market loses momentum