- Gold rallies to $4,470 after bouncing from $4,407 lows on Thursday.
- Precious metals rally on Friday with all eyes on US employment, tariffs ruling.
- The pair remains trapped within the weekly channel with $4,500 resistance capping bulls.
Gold (XAU/USD) sellers were halted at the $4,400 support area on Thursday, and bounced up to the highest range of the $4,400s, aiming for the $4,500 area with precious metals buoyed amid a moderate risk aversion on Friday.
Investors trade with caution, awaiting the US Supreme Court’s decision on Trump’s trade tariffs, which might lead to reimbursement claims of about $150 billion on levies already paid by US companies.
Apart from that, the market awaits the release of December’s US Nonfarm Payrolls report. Employment creation is expected to have remained at moderate levels, with the jobless rate ticking down. The final figures, however, are unlikely to ease the wide divergence among Fed policymakers regarding the next steps ahead.
Technical analysis: Rangebound trading below $4,500
XAU/USD trades at $4,473 after bouncing from the 100-period Simple Moving Average (SMA) in the 4-hour chart, at the $4,400 area. Technical indicators show an improved momentum, but price action remains trapped within the weekly channel. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) and its Signal line converge around the zero line, with the histogram contracting on the negative side, which suggests a fading bearish pressure. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) prints 58, a positive tone without overbought risk.
Immediate resistance aligns with the January 7 high, in the $4,500 area, ahead of the all-time high, near $4,500. A bearish reversal, on the contrary, is likely to find support at the $4,400 area, where the mentioned 100 SMA meets Thursday’s low. Further down, the next target is the January 2 low, near $4,310.
