Gold Rally Continues

Gold prices are starting the day on a softer footing following a fresh surge higher yesterday which saw the futures market expanding further out into record territory. The resumption of the rally over late summer has seen the market surging by more than 20% from the July lows. For the year, gold is now up over 50% and, given the global backdrop of the US government shutdown, continued central bank easing and geopolitical instability linked to Russia and Israel’s military actions, the market looks poised to continue higher.

US Government Shutdown

The US government shutdown continues to drag on without any signs of a forthcoming resolution and while this remains the case, gold prices should continue to find support. USD has been resilient so far, mainly due to shifts lower in JPY and EUR this week. However, should the shutdown continue into next week and beyond, the negative impact on the economy will become unavoidable. The implication here is that the market is likely to turn more dovish on the Fed, sensing an increased urgency to ease further as a result of the shutdown. For now, the shutdown means the NFP data from last month will continue to be delayed. However, with the shutdown expected to weigh heavily on incoming jobs reports from this month, this simply reinforces traders’ dovish Fed expectations and should keep gold prices support near-term with upside amplified if USD starts to resolve lower.

Technical Views

Gold

The rally in gold has seen the market trading up to test the 1.61% fib level where price is currently paused. With momentum studies bullish, however, focus is on a continuation higher with the 2% fib level at 3977.86 the next target for bulls.