Daily Times

Gold prices surged on Wednesday amid a retreat in the benchmark US 10-year bond yields and prevalent risk-off market mood.

As of 1255 hours GMT, gold in the international market was available at $1,817 per ounce, gaining $3.40. The price of 10 grams of yellow metal in Pakistan, meanwhile, increased to Rs103,000 after gaining Rs100. Gold in the local market was available at Rs102,900 on Tuesday. The relatively lower increase in the local gold prices was due to the overnight change in downward direction in prices in the international markets when the local market was closed.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield eased from a new two-year high near $1.90 percent. The prevalent risk-off market mood also aided the rebound in gold price, as the US dollar tracked yield pullback. In case the 10-year yield rises above the key 2 percent mark, the dollar could continue to find demand and trigger another leg lower in the gold prices. Expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve in March to the tune of 50bps also kept the gold prices under pressure.

From a technical perspective, gold continues to trade above the 100-period simple moving average (SMA), which is currently located near $1,810, suggesting that sellers remain on the sidelines for the time being. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator has recovered to 50.

The immediate resistance lies at Fibonacci 23.6pc one-week at $1,820. The next significant upside barrier for bulls will be Monday’s high at $1,823. The bulls are likely to aim back to test a static resistance near the $1,830-32 region, where the previous week’s high and monthly highs coincide.

On the flip side, the immediate support is pegged at the previous day’s low at $1,813, which is a powerful resistance of the SMA10 one-day and SMA100 four-hour. Hence, any further pullback is more likely to attract fresh buying and remain limited near the $1,808 mark, which is a confluence of the 21- and 50-day moving average. Failure to defend this level might prompt some technical selling and accelerate the fall towards the $1,804 level. The last line of defence for gold bulls is seen at $1,800 psychological level.