Gold trading outlook: futures trade close to 1-year highs ahead of US NFP report

On Thursday gold for delivery in April traded within the range of $1,238.00-$1,267.90. Futures closed at $1,260.80, surging 1.59% on a daily basis. It has been the 15th gain in the past 24 trading days, a second consecutive one and also the sharpest one since February 11th, when the metal soared 4.45%. The daily high has been the highest price level since February 5th 2015, when the commodity recorded a high of $1,272.60 per troy ounce. The precious metal has advanced 2.56% so far during the current month, following a 10.52% surge in February. The latter has been the sharpest monthly gain since January 2012, when the commodity added 10.98% to its value.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for delivery in April were edging up 0.58% on Friday to trade at $1,268.10 per troy ounce. The precious metal went up as high as $1,268.80 during the early phase of the European trading session, while the current daily low was at $1,256.70 per troy ounce, recorded during early Asian trade.

Today gold trading may be influenced by the key monthly report on US Non-farm Payrolls regarding February. Employers in all sectors of economy in the United States, excluding the farming industry, probably added 190 000 new jobs last month, according to the median forecast by experts, after a job gain of 151 000 in January. The latter has been the lowest job growth since September 2015, when a revised down 137 000 new job positions were added.

In addition, average hourly earnings probably increased 0.2% in February compared to the prior month, according to market expectations, after rising 0.5% in January. The latter has been the sharpest monthly gain in earnings since January 2015.

At the same time, the rate of unemployment in the country probably remained at 4.9% for a second consecutive month in February, according to expectations. It has been the lowest unemployment since February 2008, when a rate of 4.8% was reported. In case of a larger-than-anticipated job growth and an unemployment rate in line with or even above expectations in February, the US dollar would receive a strong support, while gold would experience heavy selling pressure, as it would support the case of further monetary policy tightening by the Fed.

Meanwhile, silver futures for delivery in March were gaining 2.01% on the day to trade at $15.495 per troy ounce, after climbing as high as $15.515 during early European trade, or the highest level since February 24th (a high of $15.595).

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

By employing the traditional calculation method, the daily pivot levels for gold are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $1,255.57
R1 – $1,273.13
R2 – $1,285.47
R3 – $1,303.03

S1 – $1,243.23
S2 – $1,225.67
S3 – $1,213.33

By using the traditional method of calculation again, the weekly pivot levels for gold are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $1,224.30
R1 – $1,245.60
R2 – $1,271.40
R3 – $1,292.70

S1 – $1,198.50
S2 – $1,177.20
S3 – $1,151.40