XAUUSD 02-04-2018 Intra-day analysis.

Daily Forex Market Preview, 02/04/2018

The markets gapped higher this morning following a three day weekend. The U.S. dollar was seen closing flat on Thursday. Economic data was relatively sparse with the end of quarter flows driving prices.

News over the weekend included China imposing fresh tariffs on imports from the U.S. This is expected to hit the market sentiment especially during the NY trading session. Over the weekend, the BoJ’s tankan surveys showed that business sentiment weakened in the first quarter of the year. This came amid higher revised readings for the fourth quarter of last year.

Looking ahead, the European markets are closed today on account of Easter Monday holiday. The economic calendar is relatively quiet but gets busy during the NY trading session. Important economic data for the day includes the ISM’s manufacturing PMI for March. Economists forecast that manufacturing activity slipped modestly to 60.1 from 60.8 in February.

Later in the day, the construction spending data for February is expected to show a 0.4% increase following a flat reading the month before.

XAUUSD 02-04-2018 Intra-day analysis

XAUUSD (1328.07): Gold prices formed a doji pattern on Thursday following the previous two days of strong declines. The doji comes just below the 1328 level. A bullish close today could signal some near term correction in prices. Resistance at 1336 is seen which could come in as the first level of resistance and could keep gold prices caught within the range of 1336 and 1328 region. A breakout from either of these levels could determine the next leg of direction in the broader downtrend.