(Kitco News) - Gold has had a decent run-up in the last few session with the price breaching the previous consolidation high of $1867.8/oz. Today the market will get the latest non-farm payroll figures from the U.S. and that does usually inspire some volatility. If the labor market continues to perform well then it could give us a bigger indication that the Fed will continue to normalize its policy and progress with the current rate hiking cycle. The number that some analysts could be looking at today is the wage growth figures. As inflation increases the cost of living vs inflation metric will become more and more important.
Looking at the technicals on the 1-hour chart, the price is now at the previous consolidation high at the yellow line. The current candle has not closed yet so we are yet to see if the bulls reject the zone and close above it but it is not looking good. In the middle of the lower distribution is the volume point of control (VPOC). This is the area where most contracts have changed hands and sometimes attract price. This would be the next big support and then the green and blue levels at the consolidation lows could play a role.
On the topside, the black level at the previous wave high is step one. Then beyond that, the purple shaded area is from a higher timeframe and it represents a resistance zone at around $1888.5 at a swing low from 29th March. For now, we can say the bulls are firmly in charge of this market in this timeframe but the NFP number has the power to swing this.
