Gold softened overnight in a range of $1325.20 - $1335.80. It failed to hold support at the triple bottom low at $1334-5 (4/12, 4/13, and 4/20 lows), the 50-day ($1333) and 40-day moving averages ($1332) and the up trendline from the 12/12 $1236 low at $1330 to reach $1325.20 – a 2-week low. Mostly long liquidation was seen.
Gold was pressured by a stronger dollar, as the DX rallied from 90.32 – 90.73 (2-month high). The greenback found some buying over the down trendline at 90.48, and was bolstered by weakness in the yen (107.65 – 108.28, weaker Japanese PMI), the euro ($1.2285 - $1.2225, miss on Eurozone Manufacturing PMI) and the pound ($1.4030 - $1.3945).
A rise in the US 10-year yield to 2.998% (4-year high) was dollar supportive, and rise in global bond yields also weighed on gold with the German Bund (0.603% - 0.639%), UK Gilt (1.49% - 1.53%) reaching 1-month highs.
Global equity markets were a tad softer and a mild tailwind for gold with the NIKKEI of 0.3%, the SCI down 0.1%, European markets were down from 0.1% to 0.2%, and S&P futures were +0.1%.
News that Kim Jong Un said North Korea would suspend nuclear and missile tests ahead of summits with South Korea and the US was also a bearish development for gold.
US equity futures - which were in the red with other global equity markets for most of the night - turned positive (S&P futures to 2678) just ahead of the NY open, helped by an upgrade of Merck by Goldman and an upgrade of Caterpillar by Citi.
The DX ticked up to 90.74, and gold slipped to $1323.90 – despite a miss on the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (0.10 vs. exp....