After examining the United States (US) NFP jobs report last week, gold investors are now cautiously awaiting important data this week that could affect the value of the yellow metal.
Among the important data in focus are the minutes of the FOMC meeting that will be released by the Federal Reserve (Fed), US unemployment claims and the US consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI).
In addition to economic data, investors also remain vigilant awaiting the development of the war in the Middle East which has become increasingly tense in the past week, where if the situation escalates it may increase the demand for gold as a safe asset.
On the XAU/USD chart which measures the value of gold against the US dollar, the price is still unable to break above the 2670.00 level, although there were attempts to break through that resistance when the mixed reaction to the NFP report was published.
If observed, the price first dropped to a level around 2632.00 before bouncing up and as soon as it touched the resistance of 2670.00, the price retreated back down.
The price opened around the 2650.00 level at the start of the Asian session this morning (Monday) showing a slow decline to around 2640.00 before rebounding at the start of the European session to test the 1-hour Moving Average 50 (MA50) barrier line on the XAU/USD chart.
If demand for gold picks up this week, prices could soar and potentially break their recent record highs again.
However, in order to reach that level, the price must first pass the 2670.00 level, which is a resistance that was not successfully breached last week.
Investors also remain prepared to see gold prices drop lower this week as the US dollar tends to maintain its strengthening momentum at the close of last week.
If there is a decline, the price of gold will retarget the closest concentration zone at around 2600.00.
For further declines, the 2530.00-2500.00 and 2480.00-2470.00 zones will be a reference since those zones were important RBS zones in the past weeks' trading.
It is not impossible for the price of gold to make a decline if the data this weekend such as the US CPI, the US PPI and the minutes of the FOMC meeting continue to support further strengthening of the US dollar.
