Gold Prices Struggle to Maintain March Gains- US CPI on Tap

London (Mar 11)  Gold prices are poised to close the week fractionally high with the precious metal trading at 1323 ahead of the New York close on Friday. It’s been a volatile week for bullion but the precious metal continues to hold a well-defined range after turning sharply from key support last week and prices are struggling to hold on to the early March gains. 

A strong jobs report on Friday offered some support to gold prices with U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) topping expectations with a print of 313K for the month of February. A strong read on labor force participation also highlighted underlying strength in the employment sector with a print of 63% (highest since September). Despite the job gains however, wage growth remained sluggish a downward revision to last month’s average hourly earnings accompanied by a miss in February at just 2.6% y/y (previously 2.8% y/y). The release is unlikely to alter the Federal Reserve’s expectations for three rate-hikes this year with gold finding solace into the close of the week.

Last week we noted that, “the technical levels remain clear with this week’s low marking a precise 100% extension off the highs- so is a low in place?” Gold prices have preserved this low with near-term price action pointing to a more constructive outlook next week. All eyes will be on the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on Tuesday for an updated assessment on inflation outlook.

FXdaily