Gold falls below the psychological support threshold of $1,800 per ounce, which is the first time since November 2020.
The yellow metal is also settling to wrap its worst week in two months, undermined by the strengthening dollar.
Traders fluctuate away from the protection of the bullion, consolidating a selling purge, with the signs of recuperating the labor market.
In the latest report, weekly jobless claims stood at 790,000. This is significantly lower than the forecasted 830,000 and last week’s revised figures of 812,000.
Similarly, the $1.9 trillion stimulus package hit a roadblock that could have been supportive of the precious metal’s price.
The presence of monetary injection ignites fears of high inflation. This thus results in reverted attention to non-yielding assets.
In New York’s Comex, a gold futures contract for April delivery fell by a significant 2.4% to $1,791.20 per ounce.
It further bottomed to $1,784 per ounce at one point of the trading session.
Its rival, the US Dollar index, managed to flex muscles and settled at 91.30 against other currencies in the basket.
According to an analyst from ForexLive, the flagging bullion creates a solid stage for the dollar’s ascension to power.
Despite today’s lukewarm performance, a detailed chart analysis still implies that gold has a big chance to enter back the $1,800 per ounce level.
Should it succeed in breaking such resistance, it will continue its way to $1,830/40 per ounce before heading to greener pastures.
On the other hand, this figure is still significantly lower than the initial target of $2,050 per ounce, a record-high it hit in August 2020.
Silver Craze Dissolves
As asserted by analysts, the overall forecast for the non-yielding asset remains bullish in the long-term.
This guidance is inspired by the hopes for the trillion-dollar worth of stimulus package that could be approved anytime after Republicans and Democrats reach concession.
Meanwhile, it is not only the bullion that is ending the week with a lukewarm mood.
Silver started the week in record-highs after, in what is believed as a Reddit-inspired short-selling trend.
On the other hand, the industrial metal failed to maintain the momentum and experienced painful corrections as the week progressed.
Silver slipped by 1.2% on Friday to $26.54 per ounce. It has slipped by a total of 12% from its record-high of $30.03 achieved on Monday.
Like its counterpart, the white metal is under pressure due to the firming greenback.
Similarly, rising Covid-19 cases in China, which is one of the world’s biggest importer of industrial metals, consolidated a negative momentum for prices.
