Silver, Gold, Treasury Auctions, Fed & Yellen Testimony, Commodities Briefing - Talking Points:
- Silver and gold prices are under pressure amid a rising US Dollar
- Chinese stock declines fueling risk aversion, placing metals at risk
- All eyes on Treasury auctions and testimony from Powell & Yellen
Silver and gold prices started off the week on a sour note, with most losses occurring during Monday’s Asia Pacific session. The US Dollar gained as the ousting of Turkey’s central bank chief seemed to briefly inspire risk aversion. At the same time, the flight-to-safety dynamic boosted demand for Treasuries, boosting prices and taking down yields with them. That may have cooled downside XAU/USD and XAG/USD potential.
Precious metals like silver and gold are non-yielding assets, which makes them inherently sensitive to the shifting tides of bond yields and the US Dollar. This is perhaps why both precious metals were slightly lower during Tuesday’s APAC session as the Greenback appreciated amid risk aversion. Chinese equities led declines as Credit Suisse cut the nation’s stock market to underweight from over.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that the country will impose a drastic 5-day lockdown over the Easter holiday amid a worsening Covid situation. Treasury traders may be positioning themselves ahead of 2-year, 5-year and 7-year bond auctions throughout the week, compounding recent gains in prices.
Aside from that, gold and silver prices will also be eyeing testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen before the House Financial Services Committee during the US session ahead. The former is expected to talk about monetary policy and may reiterate sanguine views about the bond market. That may risk slowing gains in bond prices.
Silver Technical Analysis
Silver appears to be trading within a neutral Symmetrical Triangle chart pattern. The direction of the breakout could determine the next key move from XAG/USD. It should be noted that a drop under the floor of the triangle still leaves the key 24.06 – 24.88 support zone to clear thereafter in order to resume January’s top. Otherwise, a push above the ceiling exposes the February high.
XAG/USD Daily Chart
Chart Created Using TradingView
Gold Technical Analysis
Meanwhile, gold is still trading within a bullish Falling Wedge chart pattern. Prices are testing falling resistance. A turn lower from here could open the door to facing the 1658 – 1678 support zone on the daily chart below. Otherwise, a break above the ceiling of the triangle would place the focus on the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA).
Gold Daily Chart
Chart Created Using TradingView
--- Written by Daniel Dubrovsky, Strategist for DailyFX.com
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