Gold Prices Likely to be Volatile

Gold prices have been steady and pretty much strong over the last 24 hours as the market stabilized and awaited further news which would determine the next short-term direction for various instruments. The rest of the days of this week, including today, is loaded with a range of news and each of it is capable of influencing the markets in different ways and that is why we are seeing more of consolidation and ranging in the gold markets as the traders position themselves and get ready for the news. In the meantime, there was a terror event in the US yesterday which has pushed the gold prices higher for now and it trades in the 1275 region as of this writing.

Gold Waiting for News

The news events begin today with the ADP employment report and the FOMC meeting minutes to be released later in the day today. These events would most likely determine the next course of action as far as the rate hike in December is concerned. The minutes should tell us what the Fed members think about the rate hike and if they continue to be hawkish, then the dollar should get a boost. The new Fed Chief to succeed Yellen would be announced tomorrow and if reports are anything to go by, we should see the appointment of Powell to that post. This is likely to lead to some mixed reaction in the dollar as the dollar bulls would favor the hawkish Taylor to that post. Also, we have the NFP employment report later in the week and as can be seen, all these news are likely to bring in a lot of volatility in the gold markets which are likely to remain under pressure.

Oil prices continued to remain volatile but what should encourage the bulls is the fact that the prices have finally reached their target of $55 for now. We had mentioned $55 as a target several months before and had steadfastly remained bullish on the oil prices even during periods of price correction. We have been proved right as the prices have achieved both our short-term target of $50 and our medium-term target of $55. With this out of the way, the bulls could be now focussing on the next target of $60 though it is likely that it would take time for the price to get there.

Silver prices have been generally higher over the last 24 hours as they have been buoyed by the increase in risk. The gold prices have moved higher and the silver prices have followed suit. They are likely to be highly volatile over the next few days with the range of news events lined up.