In The Recent Range

Gold hasn’t got anywhere near testing Friday’s highs since Sunday’s re-open, with spot last a handful of dollars higher on the session, printing just shy of $1,790/oz. The underlying level of fear surrounding the Omicron COVID variant has eased, although a wider, longer length sample will need to be observed before making any firm judgement on its mortality rate. The new variant resulted in a little more caution when it came to pre-released testimony comments from Fed Chair Powell. Note that the testimony will take place on the hill later Tuesday, with the Q&A session set to provide the focal point of that event. A reminder that initial technical support is now located at the Nov 24 low ($1,778.7/oz), with key support coming in below there, at the Nov 3 low ($1,759.0/oz). To the topside, initial resistance is seen at the Nov 16 high ($1,877.2/oz).