Gold rises as speculation of Yen intervention weighs on the US Dollar

Gold (XAU/USD) price rises over 1% on Wednesday as the Greenback softens amid speculation of an intervention to bolster the Japanese Yen (JPY), while US Treasury yields hold firm after weak US jobs data. At the time of writing, the XAU/USD pair trades at $4,373.

The Japanese Yen strengthened across the board, raising speculation that Japanese authorities may have intervened in the FX market or conducted a rate check. However, no official confirmation of either action was made.

The yellow metal remains bid as the US 10-year Treasury yield stays near Tuesdays closing price of 4.79%. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the performance of the American currency against six other currencies, is at 99.59, down 0.06%.

Recently, US President Donald Trump said that the US is “prepared to do another attack on Iran,” adding that the campaign “wont continue for too long.” Following the remarks, Oil prices resumed their uptrend, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) up 0.10% at $90.86.

Despite this, US yields barely blinked as higher energy prices implied higher interest rates needed to tackle stubbornly sticky inflation in the US.

The Federal Reserves (Fed) Beige Book was just released; in it, the US central bank stated that economic activity increased modestly since early July, while overall employment rose slightly. Regarding inflation, prices rose in eight districts.

US data showed that private-sector hiring in August was weaker than expected, at 38K, compared with the forecast of 47K and down from 46K in July, according to the ADP Employment Change National report.

New York Fed President John Williams said that US bond yields aren‘t driven by inflation expectations but rather reflect a solid economy. Williams stated that inflation is not out of control and that current monetary policy is in the right place to achieve price stability toward the Fed’s 2% goal.

Ahead, the US economic docket will feature the release of jobs data, the ISM Services PMI for August, followed by the Nonfarm Payrolls report on Friday.

Gold price reclaimed $4,300, clearing the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $4,361 at the time of writing. Despite this, which could open the door to further gains, short-term momentum remains bearish.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is below its 50-neutral level, indicating that sellers are in control, meaning that bullions path of least resistance is downwards.

For a bearish continuation, XAU/USD first support is $4,300. Once cleared, a move towards the 50-day SMA at $4,223 is on the cards. On further weakness, the $4,200 emerges as the next area of interest.

On the upside, if XAU/USD rallies past $4,400, this paves the way to challenge the $4,450 ahead of the $4,500 mark. A decisive breakout exposes the 200-day SMA at $4,531 ahead of $4,600.