Gold Focus This Week: Covid-19, Jobless Claims and US NFP

The following XAU / USD weekly analysis is based on the market closing price until the end of last week (March 27, 2020), and is intended as a reference for medium and long term trading. Fundamental Review After declining by 11% in two consecutive weeks, last week the price of gold turned stronger and closed at the level of USD 1619.06 per troy ounce. The closing price strengthened by 8.15% compared to the previous week. The strengthening of precious metals prices was triggered by fears of a global economic recession due to the increasingly massive spread of Covid-19, and the drop in the USD index after the US was declared as the country with the highest Covid-19 case in the world, surpassing China. A significant jump in gold prices occurred after the release of US unemployment claims data showed 3.28 million, the highest in history. At the same time, the US government poured a fiscal stimulus of USD 2 trillion to maintain economic growth, which was approved by the Senate. This shows an inevitable economic recession, and investors are again searching for safe haven assets including gold. This week, the price movement of precious metals will still be influenced by the development of the Covid-19 outbreak. Important data from the US that will be in focus are Jobless Claims and US Non Farm Payrolls (NFP) in March. Jobless Claims are expected to be higher than the previous week, while NFP is expected to be negative. A survey conducted by Kitco.com shows that the majority of traders predict this week the price of gold will still be bullish. Around 71% of Wall Street players expect bullish, 7% are bearish, and 21% expect neutral or sideways. While 71% of Main Street players expect bullish, 15% bearish, and 13% neutral. Technical Review