Gold extended its weekly advance, with XAU\/USD trading near $4,160 and last quoted at $4,144 after comments from US President Donald Trump about intensifying attacks on Iran, including threats against bridges and power plants. The move generated fresh safe-haven demand, while the US Dollar ceded earlier gains. Price action left the pair pressing its intraday high at $4,165, with attention on resistance at $4,200, while immediate support sits around $4,100 ahead of the $4,070 area.<\/p>\n
In the UK, ONS data showed CPI rising 2.6% year on year in June, easing from 2.8% in May; core CPI held at 2.6%, above the 2.5% forecast. Elsewhere, Canada and New Zealand printed above expectations. On the charts, XAU\/USD is above the 20-period SMA at $4,060.38, the 100-period SMA at $4,074.44 and the 200-period SMA at $4,124.41, with RSI at 66; however, the daily setup remains capped below the 200-day SMA at $4,496.16 and the 100-day SMA at $4,501.34, while the 20-day SMA stands at $4,069.95 and RSI reads 51. A deeper pullback would bring $4,000 into view.<\/p>\n
As geopolitical tensions flare up in the Middle East, we believe derivative traders should position themselves for continued upward momentum in gold (XAU\/USD) over the coming weeks. With the precious metal currently trading around $4,144, the immediate target for buyers is the psychological resistance level of $4,200. Given that the Strait of Hormuz historically handles roughly 20% of the world’s daily petroleum liquid transit, any potential military disruption will likely send safe-haven demand soaring.<\/p>\n
For short-term options traders, we recommend looking at bull call spreads with strike prices targeting $4,200 for expiration in mid-August. The technical setup on the four-hour chart supports this bullish bias, as the price remains comfortably above the dense support band between $4,060 and $4,124. However, we must remain cautious because the daily chart’s 200-day Simple Moving Average sits much higher at $4,496, indicating this bounce is a near-term recovery within a larger corrective phase.<\/p>\n
While easing consumer price index data in the US and the UK (which recently cooled to 2.6% in June) reduces the risk of aggressive interest rate hikes, energy-driven inflation remains a persistent threat. To protect capital against sudden market reversals, we advise placing tight sell-stop orders just below the immediate support level of $4,100. If the price slips below the $4,070 congestion zone, the short-term bullish thesis will be invalidated, prompting us to prepare for a deeper test of the critical $4,000 floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n