Daily Times

Gold prices inched up after going down in early session amid retreating US bond yields and a weaker dollar.

As of 1325 hours GMT, gold in the international market was available at $1,828.30 per ounce, gaining $1.70.

The price of 10 grams of yellow metal in Pakistan, meanwhile, decreased to Rs102,700 after shedding Rs700. Gold in the local market was available at Rs103,400 on Thursday last. Local gold prices decreased due to overnight change in the gold prices when the local market was closed. Moreover, the Pakistani rupee made some gains against the US dollar during the day, which also impacted local prices negatively.

According to experts, gold reversed an intraday dip and stalled the overnight pullback from over a two-week high. The risk-off mood was seen as a key factor that acted as a tailwind for the safe-haven metal. They said that due to geopolitical risks, a generally weaker tone around the equity markets acted as a tailwind for the safe-haven gold. Apart from this, concerns about the continuous rise in the US consumer prices further benefitted the precious metal’s status as a hedge against inflation.

Moreover, the US bond yields, however, retreated a bit after reaching a record high level a day earlier, which prompted some intraday US dollar selling. This, in turn, was seen as a key factor that extended some support to the dollar-denominated commodity, though the uptick lacked bullish conviction.

From a technical perspective, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is still above the midline, justifying the latest surge in gold price. On the upside, immediate resistance is seen at the round level of $1,830, above which Wednesday’s high of $1,836 will be probed. Acceptance above the latter will call for a retest of the two-week highs above $1,840. Some follow-through buying has the potential to push gold prices back towards the January swing high, around the $1,853 area.

On the flip side, gold has room to extend the correction to the horizontal 21-daily moving average at $1,819 if Thursday’s low of $1,822 gives way. Further down, the February 8 low of $1,815 will be on sellers’ radars. The downside, however, appears limited.