Gold trading outlook: futures distance from recent highs as the US dollar regains ground

On Thursday gold for delivery in April traded within the range of $1,255.90-$1,270.10. Futures closed at $1,259.80, soaring 2.48% on a daily basis. It has been the 18th gain in the past 34 trading days and also the sharpest one since February 11th, when the yellow metal added 4.45%. The daily high has been the highest level since March 11th, when a high of $1,280.70 per troy ounce was recorded. Gold has advanced 1.72% so far in March, following two consecutive months of gains.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for delivery in April were edging down 0.44% on Friday to trade at $1,254.20 per troy ounce. The precious metal went down as low as $1,253.70 during the early phase of the European trading session, while the current daily high was at $1,267.60 per troy ounce, recorded during mid-Asian trade.

Gold advanced to a daily high after earlier on Friday the Minutes from Bank of Japans policy meeting on January 28th-29th revealed that policy makers had discussed whether to introduce negative interest rates as an additional easing measure. There has been a 5 to 4 vote that the new policy should be adopted.

Later in the day gold trading may be influenced by the monthly survey on US consumer sentiment, published by Thomson Reuters in cooperation with the University of Michigan. The preliminary reading of the corresponding barometer, which usually comes out two weeks ahead of the final data, probably was 92.2 during the current month, improving from a final 91.7 in February. The latter came well above the preliminary reading of 90.7, which was reported on February 12th. If expectations were met, March’s reading would be the highest since December 2015, when a level of 92.6 was reported. In case the gauge of consumer sentiment increased at a steeper pace than projected in March, this would have a moderate-to-strong bullish effect on the greenback and a moderate-to-strong bearish effect on gold, respectively. The preliminary reading is due out at 14:00 GMT.

Meanwhile, silver futures for delivery in May were gaining 0.60% on the day to trade at $16.025 per troy ounce, after going up as high as $16.155 a troy ounce during the early phase of the European trading session. It has been the highest price level since October 28th 2015, when silver recorded a daily high of $16.370 per troy ounce.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

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

Central Pivot Point – $1,261.93
R1 – $1,267.97
R2 – $1,276.13
R3 – $1,282.17

S1 – $1,253.77
S2 – $1,247.73
S3 – $1,239.57

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

Central Pivot Point – $1,258.97
R1 – $1,280.43
R2 – $1,302.17
R3 – $1,323.63

S1 – $1,237.23
S2 – $1,215.77
S3 – $1,194.03