Little Changed In Asia; U.S. CPI In Focus

Gold deals $1/oz softer to print $1,716/oz at writing, operating firmly within the confines of Friday’s range in fairly limited Asia-Pac dealing, with participants looking through the previously-flagged spread of hawkish press surrounding the ECB over the weekend.

• To recap Friday’s price action, gold pared gains after hitting fresh two-week highs (at ~$1,729.5), ultimately ending ~$8 higher for a higher weekly close, snapping a three-week streak of losses amidst a pullback in the USD (DXY) from its recent cycle highs.
• The move higher in gold came alongside a broad improvement in sentiment for precious metals, with silver, palladium and platinum notching weekly gains as well.
• Looking ahead, U.S. CPI on Tuesday will provide the first point of interest for gold in the absence of scheduled Fedspeak, with the pre-FOMC blackout period in effect.
• From a technical perspective, gold has breached initial resistance at $1,728.3 (6 Sep high), exposing further resistance at ~$1,731.4 (20-Day EMA), with key resistance located some distance away at $1,765.5 (25 Aug high). On the other hand, support is seen at $1,681.0 (21 Jul low and bear trigger).