Gold Falls Sharply After August Payrolls Crush Market Expectations
Gold came under heavy selling pressure on Friday, falling by nearly $100 after a surprisingly strong U.S. nonfarm payrolls report eased concerns about the health of the labor market and strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at its September 16 policy meeting.
The upbeat employment data sent bullion prices down more than 2.5%, putting gold on track for a second consecutive weekly loss.
The latest decline has also weakened the metal’s technical outlook on the daily chart. The 14-day momentum indicator is pressuring the midline, while the RSI continues to trend lower toward the neutral 50 level. Moving averages remain mixed, however, with a bullish crossover between the 30- and 100-day averages contrasting with a bearish 10/200-day death cross, suggesting that additional downside confirmation is still required before a broader bearish scenario can be validated.
A decisive break below the key $4,400 support zone would be the minimum requirement to reinforce negative sentiment. Further weakness below the daily Kijun-sen at $4,358 would strengthen the bearish structure and expose the next support levels at $4,319, representing the 50% retracement of the $3,942 to $4,697 rally, followed by $4,268, where the top of the daily Ichimoku cloud is located.
Repeated daily closes below the Tenkan-sen level at $4,489 would help keep near-term momentum firmly in the hands of sellers.
Market attention now turns to the U.S. August inflation report, due next week, which is expected to provide critical guidance for Federal Reserve policymakers ahead of the September 16 FOMC meeting. The inflation print will likely determine whether the recent selloff in gold extends further or proves to be a temporary correction.
Res: 4489; 4519; 4533; 4575
Sup: 4400; 4358; 4319; 4268
