Gold price rises ahead of key economic data but remains within a broader range

Gold prices rose during early trading on Wednesday after being stuck in a narrow range for the past three days.

The fresh strength pushed gold to its highest level in almost two weeks, though it has been moving within a broader range ($2368/$2286) over the past couple of weeks.

Traders are seeking new direction signals, with the Fed’s monetary policy and the geopolitical situation being key drivers for the metal.

Markets are awaiting the release of the minutes from the FOMC’s last meeting (due later today) for more insight into the Fed’s next steps. On Tuesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell noted that the US is on a disinflationary path but emphasized the need for more data before cutting rates.

The US labor sector data is also in focus, with the ADP report from the private sector due today and the more significant NFP release on Friday.

The technical picture has turned firmly bullish on lower timeframes and improved on the daily chart, although no clear direction is expected as long as the price action remains within the current range (also defined by the boundaries of the daily Ichimoku cloud).

This suggests that traders could continue to trade within the range as long as the short-term action remains sideways. A break above the range boundaries at $2368/75 (50% retracement of $2450/$2286 / daily cloud top) or below $2300/$2286 (psychological / daily cloud base / June 7 low) would generate an initial directional signal.

Res: 2350; 2368; 2375; 2387
Sup: 2325; 2319; 2300; 2286