Gold Struggles Amid Bullish USD Ahead of US NFP Report
Gold's price remains stagnant as traders wait for the release of the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report, which is expected to show a decrease in job additions compared to the previous month. The strong US Dollar is also acting as a headwind for gold, with oil-driven inflation fears and volatile energy prices keeping US bond yields near multi-year highs.
The US-Iran standoff has kept the USD firm near its highest level since April 2025, further limiting the appeal of gold. However, the lack of follow-through selling suggests caution for XAU/USD bears before positioning for any meaningful depreciation.
From a technical perspective, the XAU/USD pair remains in a bearish near-term tone below the 200-period Simple Moving Average (SMA) on the 4-hour chart. Nevertheless, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator remains in positive territory with the line above its signal and a still-constructive histogram.