Gold stays dangerously close to 2019-lows, trades below $1280
- US Dollar Index struggles to advance beyond 97.
- Wall Street opens the day mixed despite upbeat earnings.
- 10-year US T-bond yield retreats from monthly highs.
With the strong macroeconomic data releases from China boosting the risk appetite and weighing on the demand for traditional safe-havens on Wednesday, the XAU/USD pair slumped to its lowest level since late December at $1273.04.
However, as the positive market sentiment turning neutral in the early NA session, the pair started to retrace its daily drop and was last seen trading at $1275.60, losing a little more than $1 on a daily basis. Despite that change of direction, the pair stays within a touching distance of its recent low, suggesting that sellers are unwilling to lose control of the price action.
Although today's data from the U.S. showed that the trade deficit at $49.4 billion narrowed more than expected in February, the greenback couldn't grab investors' attention with the US Dollar Index staying in the negative territory below the 97 handle.
Reflecting the change in the market mood, the 10-year US T-bond yield, which rose to its highest level since March 20 earlier today, turned negative on the day in the last hour. Additionally, major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day on a mixed note with the DJIA and the S&P 500 posting small losses and the Nasdaq Composite rising more than 0.5% in the early trade.
Technical levels to consider