On January 31^st, 2019 gold hit its highest value this year when on an intraday basis gold future traded to a high of $1330 per ounce. From there pricing began an extremely shallow retracement trading as low as $1306 on February 7^th.

Once again it is dollar strength that is the primary force influencing current precious metals pricing. More importantly there are fundamental events that are quickly approaching that could greatly influence relative dollar strength or weakness and demand our attention.

Given that this recent correction is a reflection of gold prices surging $130, a very respectable rally, the price recovery over the last couple of trading days is clearly an indication of the resilience of current gold pricing and demand for the precious metal.

The Chinese markets might be closed this week, however concerns about the continuation of our looming trade war continues. Resulting in U.S equities closing sharply lower today and as of 4:30 PM Eastern standard time the Dow Jones industrial average is off by well over a full percentage point and currently trading down almost 290 points a net decline of 1.15% on the day.

Gold futures broke a key support level at $1312 today. As of 5:00 PM Eastern standard time April futures are trading at $1310.50 which is a net decline of $8.70 on the day. Spot gold is experiencing similar draw-downs, and are currently fixed at $1306 after factoring in a decline today of $8.80.

A combination of dollar strength this week coupled with solid performance in U.S equities have created pressure in the safe haven class limiting any real upside move for gold pricing. In fact, the risk on market sentiment is not solely based in U.S equities but rather spread globally as world equities have reached a two-month high in trading today.

Gold futures are trading under pressure today, with the most active April 2019 contract currently down $5.60 and fixed at $1316.50. However, it is the low that has generated the most interest on a technical basis. Today’s low came in at $1312.70, which is $.20 above the .23% Fibonacci retracement level.

In light of an incredibly strong jobs report today gold pricing held up rather well. This morning the U.S Labor Department reported that there were 304,000 new jobs added in January. This number came in much higher than estimates from analysts who were predicting that gains in January would come in around 165,000.

Yesterday’s press conference held by the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, announced that the central bank would keep its current fed funds rates at a range of 2.25% to 2.50%.

To be more precise it is the Federal Reserve’s decisions and monetary policy which is the underlying cause of today’s market moves, and as the head of the central bank Jerome Powell delivered the message in a press conference following today’s conclusion of the FOMC meeting.