Gold Price Outlook: A Week Packed Full of Major Risk Events and Data

New York (April 28)  A very busy week ahead with the calendar packed full of market data and events across the globe. In addition, all next week, and the Monday after, Japan will be closed celebrating ‘Golden Week’ thinning liquidity in Asian hours, leaving markets vulnerable to ‘spike’ moves. In such conditions, gold would normally grab a bid but with the US dollar continuing to weigh on the precious metal, a neutral stance looks justified.

A look at the calendar below will show that there are a 28 ‘high importance’ data releases and events, all of which could change the risk landscape. A few highlights include, the latest interest rate decisions from the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve, the monthly US Labour report and various GDP and inflation releases across the Euro-Zone.

DailyFX Economic Calendar

Gold has bounced off a multi-month low of $1,266/oz made this Tuesday but remains under pressure, primarily from a strong US dollar. The first look at Q1 GDP showed q/q growth of 3.2%, sharply higher than expectations around 2.3%, but the greenback has sold off going into the weekend after having made a fresh 23-month high earlier in the session. While some technical indicators suggest the US dollar is overbought, a bout of expectation-beating data could see the USD turn higher again, pushing gold lower. On the flip-side, dovish commentary from the FOMC meeting on Wednesday may prompt further profit-taking.

DailyFX