Upward Channel Breakout

A day before, the precious metal gold closed at $1807.10 after placing a high of $1812.00 and a low of $1794.20. Gold extended its gains and continued its bullish streak for the 7th consecutive session on Thursday. However, the gains were a little too limited as the prices remained primarily flat throughout the session. The U.S. dollar index that gauges the greenback value against the basket of six major rival currencies remained on the back foot on Thursday. The DXY dropped to 92.24 level amid the declining U.S. Treasury Yields. The yields on the benchmark 10-year note continued their bearish streak for the 9th consecutive session and reached their lowest since mid-February level at 1.251%. Lower Treasury yields decrease the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding yellow metal and support the gold prices. The precious metal was also supported on the day because of the concerns over a recovery in the U.S. labor market and the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

On the data front, at 17:30 GMT, the Unemployment Claims from the U.S. for last week surged to 373K against the projected 345K and weighed on the U.S. dollar that helped gold remain green for the day. The rising number of jobless claims from Americans depicted a weak U.S. labor recovery that weighed on the U.S. dollar and helped gold prices on Thursday. Meanwhile, the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in some wealthier nations has become a race between the rollout of vaccines and the highly contagious delta variant. As per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the researchers were struggling to confirm the effectiveness of vaccines against the highly contagious variant of the coronavirus that was first identified in India, the Delta variant, which accounts for more than half of the new cases in the U.S.

According to the Health Ministry of Israel, the Pfizer & BioNTech vaccine, which is considered one of the most effective shots, offered only 64% protection against the Delta variant. Given the rising spread of this variant, Sydney extended its lockdown by a week till July 16; Singapore announced that it would not use Sinovac to its people in its national vaccine campaign. The United States reported to dispatch 2 million Moderna vaccine doses to Vietnam, Turkmenistan made the coronavirus vaccination mandatory for all adults. At the same time, England’s chief medical officer warned of a rise in long-covid in which symptoms persist for months among young people.

The Hype around the Delta variant caused a sudden increase in the value of yellow metal prices after Pfizer Inc. revealed its plans to U.S. regulators to authorize a booster dose of its coronavirus vaccine within the next month. The spread of the extremely contagious Delta variant and the risks of reinfection six months after inoculation urged scientists to recommend a booster shot of the vaccine. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention said in a joint statement that Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster coronavirus vaccine shot at this time.

Gold Intraday Technical Level

Support Resistance

1792.54 1817.34

1780.97 1830.57

1767.74 1842.14

Pivot point: 1805.77

Gold - XAU/USD - Technical Outlook

On Monday, the precious metal gold is trading with a bearish bias at a 1,799 level. On the 4 hour timeframe, the precious metal gold has violated the upward channel at 1,803, which is now adding strong selling pressure on gold. On the downside, the precious metal's support level prevails at 1,796, and this exposes gold price towards 1,789 level. The lagging technical indicator 50 EMA is supporting a selling bias in gold along with the leading MACD indicator that's exhibiting a bearish crossover. Both of the technical tools are in favor of a selling bias. Speaking about the technical sice, gold has closed three black crows patterns on the 4-hour chart supporting strong bearish bias among investors. All the best!

Double Top Pattern Extends Resistance

A day before, the single currency Euro closed at $1.1872 level after placing a high of $1.1880 and a low of $1.1855. The EUR/USD currency pair managed to recover most of its last daily losses in a single day amid the renewed weakness in the U.S dollar. The declining U.S. Treasury yields that reached their lowest level since February 14 at 1.25% weighed heavily on the greenback and dragged it against the basket of six major currencies. The European Central Bank raised its inflation goals and said it might let the inflation overshoot the target for a while. After an 18-months strategy review, the policymakers agreed to seek consumer-price growth of 2% over the medium-term with an asymmetric aim.

On Sunday, the ECB President Christine Lagarde announced that the central bank would renew its direction on monetary stimulus at its following meeting and intimated that a new policy might be launched in 2022 to support the European economy to succeed in the contemporary bond-buying plan. During the previous week, the ECB revised its stand on inflation, possibly providing CPI to soar higher than its 2% goal if the circumstance delivers.

Besides Europe, the U.S. is due to report inflation numbers for June, whereas, on Wednesday and Thursday, the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to testify in the presence of Congress. Powell may potentially provide hints on the central bank’s thought over tapering.

Furthermore, China will deliver second-quarter GDP figures on Thursday amid worries they could disappoint, given a swift easing in monetary policy during the previous week. The number of Covid-19 cases proceeds to grow in considerable sections of Asia. At the same time, the U.S. had the most cases since mid-May as the delta variant covers limited vaccinated areas of the nation.

This strategy review was the first by the ECB since 2003, which included a changed inflation goal to the symmetric target of 2% along with ECB allowing a transitory period in which inflation could remain moderately above the target. The climate change considerations will also be included in monetary policy operations. The new strategy will be applied to start with July 22 monetary policy meeting. The Governing Council has intentions to assess its strategy periodically with the next assessment projected for 2025. The single currency Euro gained strength against the U.S. dollar after the release of strategy review from the European Central Bank and pushed EUR/USD higher on board.

On the data front, at 11:00 GMT, the German Trade Balance reduced to 12.6B against the forecasted 15,8B and weighed on Euro that further capped gains in EUR/USD. From the U.S. side, at 17:30 GMT, the Unemployment Claims from the U.S. for last week rose to 373K against the predicted 345K and weighed on the U.S. dollar that added further gains in EUR/USD pair.

EUR/USD Intraday Technical Levels

Support Resistance

1.1794 1.1879

11746 1.1916

1.1708 1.1964

Pivot Point: 1.1831

EUR/USD - Technical Outlook

The EUR/USD pair is trading with a slightly bullish bias at the 1.1877 level, facing immediate resistance at the 1.1879 level. A bullish crossover of 1.1879 level can expose the EUR/USD pair until the next resistance area of 1.1908. At the same time, the support continues to hold around the 1.1850 mark. The 50 periods EMA supports the EUR/USD pair at the 1.1840 level, and the odds of a bullish bias remain strong over this level. The traders will be keeping their eyes on the 1.1879 level as a violation of this can expose the pair towards the 1.1908 level. All the best!

Symmetrical Triangle Intact

On Monday, the BTC/USD is trading with a bullish bias at 34,500 range as the Deputy Director of the Central Bank of China stated that Bitcoin and stable coins were speculative tools with potential risks threatening financial security and social stability. He also stated that bitcoin and stable coins were also being used for money laundering and illegal economic activities.

According to the Deputy Director, Fen Yufei, the stable coins could potentially bring risks and challenges to the international monetary system. He acknowledged that the bank was worried about this fact and was taking some measures against it. Yufei said that the central bank was continually studying and observing the private digital currencies; however, at the same time, it was also vigorously promoting and improving its own central bank digital currency, Renminbi.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials have said that they will take action to seize cryptocurrencies from 84 wallet addresses. These wallets could hold millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies. Additionally, the officials suspected that these addresses belong to Hamas. The estimated accumulated amount held by the wallets is $7.7 million. Furthermore, the Bank of Thailand issued the latest warning to crypto holders against using digital currencies for payments, adding extra pressure on BTC/USD. The bank warned crypto holders who use their digital assets as a medium of exchange that if their practices become widespread, it might take strong measures to regulate the cryptos. On Thursday, the central bank of Thailand said that anyone who is involved in the business of digital assets for goods and services, as a recipient or sender, could face risks, including money laundering, theft, and price volatility. The bank also reiterated that Bitcoin and Ether, including other cryptocurrencies, were not legal tender in the country and warned of consequences from regulators.

As per JPMorgan Chase & Co, El Salvador's announcement of Bitcoin as an authorized tender could produce challenges for both the country and the cryptocurrency. Lately, the leading cryptocurrency's Bitcoin trading volumes surpass $40 billion to $50 billion per day, but most of that is internalized by significant exchanges.

In addition to this, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) declared an industry-wide alert about potential attacks on exchanges and crypto holders this week. The institution stated that there are warnings to actively pursuing virtual asset platforms to grasp these assets, producing financial losses in the process. Sim swapping, account stealing, and tech support personnel are the means to fulfil these attacks.

BTC/USD Intraday Technical Levels

Support Resistance

31978.2 33854.2

31082.6 34834.6

30102.2 35730.2

Pivot Point: 32958.6

BTC/USD - Technical Outlook

The leading cryptocurrency has bounced off the support level of 32,065 level to trade at 32,945. On the 4-hour chart above, Bitcoin has violated the symmetrical triangle pattern adding bearish pressure on the pair. The breakout of the 33,750 support level exposed bitcoin price towards the next support area of 32,065 level, and this double bottom support level pushed the pair back to the 32,934 mark. At the moment, Bitcoin's immediate resistance stays at 33,418 level that's being extended by 50 periods EMA level. Bullish crossover of 33,418 level exposes the BTC/USD price towards the resistance level of 34,999 level. All the best!

G20 Meetings in Focus!

Gold prices were closed at $1804.10 after placing a high of $1819.00 and a low of $1794.20. Gold extended its gains and continued its bullish streak for the 7th consecutive session on Thursday. However, the gains were a little too limited as the prices remained primarily flat throughout the session. The U.S. dollar index that gauges the greenback value against the basket of six major rival currencies remained on the back foot on Thursday. The DXY dropped to 92.24 level amid the declining U.S. Treasury Yields. The yields on the benchmark 10-year note continued their bearish streak for the 9th consecutive session and reached their lowest since mid-February level at 1.251%. Lower Treasury yields decrease the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding yellow metal and support the gold prices. The precious metal was also supported on the day because of the concerns over a recovery in the U.S. labour market and the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

On the data front, at 17:30 GMT, the Unemployment Claims from the U.S. for last week surged to 373K against the projected 345K and weighed on the U.S. dollar that helped gold remain green for the day. The rising number of jobless claims from Americans depicted a weak U.S. labor recovery that weighed on the U.S. dollar and helped gold prices on Thursday. Meanwhile, the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in some wealthier nations has become a race between the rollout of vaccines and the highly contagious delta variant. As per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the researchers were struggling to confirm the effectiveness of vaccines against the highly contagious variant of the coronavirus that was first identified in India, the Delta variant, which accounts for more than half of the new cases in the U.S.

According to the Health Ministry of Israel, the Pfizer & BioNTech vaccine, which is considered one of the most effective shots, offered only 64% protection against the Delta variant. Given the rising spread of this variant, Sydney extended its lockdown by a week till July 16; Singapore announced that it would not use Sinovac to its people in its national vaccine campaign. The United States reported to dispatch 2 million Moderna vaccine doses to Vietnam, Turkmenistan made the coronavirus vaccination mandatory for all adults. At the same time, England’s chief medical officer warned of a rise in long-covid in which symptoms persist for months among young people.

The Hype around the Delta variant caused a sudden increase in the value of yellow metal prices after Pfizer Inc. revealed its plans to U.S. regulators to authorize a booster dose of its coronavirus vaccine within the next month. The spread of the extremely contagious Delta variant and the risks of reinfection six months after inoculation urged scientists to recommend a booster shot of the vaccine. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention said in a joint statement that Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster coronavirus vaccine shot at this time.

Gold Intraday Technical Level

Support Resistance

1792.54 1817.34

1780.97 1830.57

1767.74 1842.14

Pivot point: 1805.77

Gold - XAU/USD - Technical Outlook

Gold is trading with a neutral bias at the 1,801 level on Friday as investors await G20 Meetings. In the 4 hour timeframe, the precious metal gold has formed an upward channel that supports it around 1,796 levels. On the lower side, the breakout of 1,796 levels exposes gold prices towards the next support area of 1,78l. At the same time, the resistance stays at 1,807 levels today. The bullish breakout of 1,807 levels can lead the gold price towards 1,817 levels today. The MACD is tossing above and below 0 levels that’s suggesting indecision among investors. Since we don’t have any significant events from the United States, investor’s focus will remain on the technical levels today. All the best!

Bearish Engulfing to Drive Selling Trend!

The EUR/USD was closed at $1.1842 after placing a high of $1.1868 and a low of $1.1783. EUR/USD currency pair reversed its course on Thursday after declining for the previous three consecutive sessions. The currency pair managed to recover most of its last daily losses in a single day amid the renewed weakness in the U.S dollar. The declining U.S. Treasury yields that reached their lowest level since February 14 at 1.25% weighed heavily on the greenback and dragged it against the basket of six major currencies. The DXY fell to 92.24 level on Thursday as the Unemployment Claims rose and dismissed the hopes for an earlier than expected easing of stimulus measures by the Fed.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank raised its inflation goals and said it might let the inflation overshoot the target for a while. After an 18-months strategy review, the policymakers agreed to seek consumer-price growth of 2% over the medium-term with an asymmetric aim.

According to ECB, when interest rates are close to lower limits, the economy will need a forceful monetary stimulus that could suggest a temporary period in which inflation is moderately above target. Christine Lagarde said that the new formulation removes any possible ambiguity and resolutely conveys that 2% is not a ceiling. She added that the strategy review was agreed unanimously as the bank wanted to avoid the negative deviation that will entrench inflation projections.

This strategy review was the first by the ECB since 2003, which included a changed inflation goal to the symmetric target of 2% along with ECB allowing a transitory period in which inflation could remain moderately above the target. The climate change considerations will also be included in monetary policy operations. The new strategy will be applied to start with July 22 monetary policy meeting. The Governing Council has intentions to assess its strategy periodically with the next assessment projected for 2025. The single currency Euro gained strength against the U.S. dollar after the release of strategy review from the European Central Bank and pushed EUR/USD higher on board.

On the data front, at 11:00 GMT, the German Trade Balance reduced to 12.6B against the forecasted 15,8B and weighed on Euro that further capped gains in EUR/USD. From the U.S. side, at 17:30 GMT, the Unemployment Claims from the U.S. for last week rose to 373K against the predicted 345K and weighed on the U.S. dollar that added further gains in EUR/USD pair.

EUR/USD Intraday Technical Levels

Support Resistance

1.1794 1.1879

11746 1.1916

1.1708 1.1964

Pivot Point: 1.1831

EUR/USD - Technical Outlook

The EUR/USD pair is trading with a strong bearish bias at the 1.1832 level, disrupting the support level of 1.1837 level. On the downside, the major currency pair has the potential to plunge until the next support area of 1.1797 and 1.1780 levels. On the 4- hour timeframe, the EUR/USD pair is facing resistance at 1.1849 level that’s being extended by 50 periods EMA levels along with a downward trendline. Closing the bearish engulfing candle on the 4-hour timeframe exposes the EUR/USD price towards 1.1807 and 1.1780 support levels. The leading technical tool MACD is also trading in a bearish zone; therefore, the selling trend dominates on the EUR/USD pair today. All the best!

Bullish Bounce off in Bitcoin Price!

The BTC/USD was closed at $32878.9 after placing a high of $33939.0 and a low of $32063.0. BTC/USD dropped on Thursday for the second consecutive session after the Deputy Director of the Central Bank of China stated that Bitcoin and stable coins were speculative tools with potential risks threatening financial security and social stability. He also stated that bitcoin and stable coins were also being used for money laundering and illegal economic activities.

According to the Deputy Director, Fen Yufei, the stable coins could potentially bring risks and challenges to the international monetary system. He acknowledged that the bank was worried about this fact and was taking some measures against it. Yufei said that the central bank was continually studying and observing the private digital currencies; however, at the same time, it was also vigorously promoting and improving its own central bank digital currency, Renminbi.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials have said that they will take action to seize cryptocurrencies from 84 wallet addresses. These wallets could hold millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies. Additionally, the officials suspected that these addresses belong to Hamas. The estimated accumulated amount held by the wallets is $7.7 million.

Furthermore, the Bank of Thailand issued the latest warning to crypto holders against using digital currencies for payments, adding extra pressure on BTC/USD. The bank warned crypto holders who use their digital assets as a medium of exchange that if their practices become widespread, it might take strong measures to regulate the cryptos. On Thursday, the central bank of Thailand said that anyone who is involved in the business of digital assets for goods and services, as a recipient or sender, could face risks, including money laundering, theft, and price volatility. The bank also reiterated that Bitcoin and Ether, including other cryptocurrencies, were not legal tender in the country and warned of consequences from regulators.

Additionally, Chinese regulators have issued a warning to citizens of the risks involved in crypto trading. After cracking down on crypto mining facilities, the regulators, including the Business Administration Department of People's Bank of China and the Beijing Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, have set their eyes on companies providing crypto-related services. All these negative developments surrounding the crypto market added pressure on BTC/USD and dragged its prices downwards on Thursday.

BTC/USD Intraday Technical Levels

Support Resistance

31978.2 33854.2

31082.6 34834.6

30102.2 35730.2

Pivot Point: 32958.6

BTC/USD - Technical Outlook

On Friday, the leading cryptocurrency has bounced off the support level of 32,065 level to trade at 32,945. On the 4-hour chart above, Bitcoin has violated the symmetrical triangle pattern adding bearish pressure on the pair. The breakout of the 33,750 support level exposed bitcoin price towards the next support area of 32,065 level, and this double bottom support level pushed the pair back to the 32,934 mark. At the moment, Bitcoin's immediate resistance stays at 33,418 level that's being extended by 50 periods EMA level. Bullish crossover of 33,418 level exposes the BTC/USD price towards the resistance level of 34,999 level. All the best!

Unemployment Claims Ahead!

Gold prices were closed at $1802.10 after placing a high of $1810.20 and a low of $1794.10. Gold continued its bullish streak for the 6th consecutive session driven by a slide in the U.S. Treasury yields after the minutes from Federal Reserve’s June policy meeting revealed that the substantial further progress on economic recovery was not met yet. The minutes from the central bank of the U.S. essentially confirmed market expectations and failed to present additional hawkish surprises in the market. The threshold for tapering asset purchases has yet to be met while the rising inflation levels primarily reflected temporary factors that is why Fed remained cautious about being more hawkish in the minutes.

Last month, a surprise hawkish tilt dragged gold to the downside by 7% as the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields moved higher. However, on Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury yields on benchmark 10-year note fell to their lowest in more than four months and reached below 1.30%. At the same time, the U.S. Dollar Index that measures the greenback value against the basket of six major currencies remained green for the day and extended its gains to reach 92.84 level, its highest in almost 2-months.

On the data front, at 19:00 GMT, the JOLTS Job Openings declined to 9.21M against the expected 9.30M and weighed on the U.S. dollar that added further gains in gold prices. At 19:01 GMT, IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism dropped to 54.3 against the forecasted 57.3, which also weighed on the U.S. dollar, which pushed gold further. According to the minutes released on Wednesday, some Federal Reserve officials talked about tapering; however, some were in a rush to get the process going. The minutes could only provide a hint as to when the central bank decided to start reducing the pace of bond purchases. Most of the officials believed that the benchmark set by the Federal Reserve for any significant shifts in the policy I,e “substantial further progress” has not yet been met, so the supporting measures should be continued for a while.

The Federal Reserve, Open Market Committee, held the short-term interest rates near zero in its latest policy meeting, but it also indicated that it might adjust policy and increase the rates in the upcoming months. Currently, the rates are anchored in a range between 0% and 0.25%, and Fed did not change these rates in the meeting as expected. However, many officials suggested increasing the rate two times in 2023 to 0.6%.

Gold is susceptible to the rising interest rates as it increases the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, and when this was revealed in the previous month, gold suffered by about 7%. However, the buying of gold from central banks around the world in recent months has offered some support to gold that is keeping its prices higher.

Gold Intraday Technical Level

Support Resistance

1794.06 1810.16

1786.03 1818.23

1777.96 1826.26

Pivot Point: 1802.13

Gold - XAU/USD - Technical Outlook

Gold is trading with a bearish bias at the 1,796 level on Thursday. In the 4 hour timeframe, the precious metal gold has violated an upward channel that’s suggesting bearish trend in gold. Gold’s immediate resistance continues to stay at 1,802 levels. At the moment, gold is gaining support at 1,793 level that’s being extended by a double bottom pattern. The 50 periods EMA is extending support at the same level of 1,783. Therefore, the traders are going to keep their eyes on the 1,796 level today. Below this, gold can find the next support at 1,790 and 1,783. Conversely, a bullish crossover of 1,802 levels can lead the gold price towards a 1,814 level. All the best!

Unemployment Claims in Focus!

The EUR/USD closed at $1.1789 after placing a high of $1.1839 and a low of $1.1782. EUR/USD extended its loss for the second consecutive session on Wednesday amid the strength in the U.S. dollar and the prevailing risk-off market sentiment. The currency pair EUR/USD dropped to its lowest in three-month at 1.1782 after the U.S. dollar resumed its advance on Wednesday. During early trading hours, the currency pair remained under pressure; however, after the release of FOMC meeting minutes, the pair finally found some ground and settled at around 1.1800 level.

The minutes released from the committee of the Federal Reserve showed that the policymakers were still committed to achieving substantial further progress towards their goals of economic recovery before changing the pace of the current monetary policy. At the same time, many members believed that the risks to their inflation expectations were tilted to the upside. After the release of U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes from June, the U.S. Treasury yields on benchmark 10-year note fell below 1.30% to its more than 4-months lowest level. However, the U.S. dollar remained green for the day as DXY reached 92.84 level amid the risk-off sentiment prevailing in the market.

On the data front, at 11:00 GMT, the German Industrial Production for May dropped to -0.3% against the forecasted 0.5% and weighed on the single currency Euro that added further loss in EUR/USD pair. At 11:45 GMT, the French Trade Balance declined to -6.8B against the projected -6.0B and weighed on the single currency Euro and dragged EUR/USD pair further on the downside. At 13:00GMT, the Italian Retail Sales fell to 0.2% against the anticipated 3.1% and weighed on the single currency Euro and kept the currency pair EUR/USD under pressure for the day.

From the U.S. side, at 19:00 GMT, the JOLTS Job Openings dropped to 9.21M against the estimated 9.30M and weighed on the U.S. dollar that limited the fall in EUR/USD. At 19:01 GMT, IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism declined to 54.3 against the anticipated 57.3, which weighed on the U.S. dollar and capped further loss in EUR/USD.

The single currency Euro failed to stage a recovery against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday as the data released from Euro-area was not in favor of the currency for the day. Furthermore, the prevailing risk-off market sentiment driven by the uncertainty in the market related to the Delta variant of the coronavirus also kept the riskier currency under pressure, and hence, EUR/USD suffered more during Wednesday’s trading session.

Furthermore, the European Commission said that the economic outlook has improved for the Eurozone since its previous forecast in May.

However, the pandemic was not over yet, and the new variants still pose a risk. In its updated economic forecast, the European Commission predicted the EU and Eurozone expansion at 4.8% and 4.5% in 2022, respectively. The previous projection in May suggested a 4.2% growth rate for the bloc while 4.2% for the Eurozone. The Commission expected that the real GDP would return to pre-pandemic levels in the fourth quarter of this year, despite the risks of pandemic remains.

EUR/USD Intraday Technical Levels

Support Resistance

1.1767 1.1824

1.1746 1.1860

1.1710 1.1882

Pivot Point: 1.1803

EUR/USD - Technical Outlook

The EUR/USD is trading with a bearish bias at the 1.1798 level. The EUR/USD pair has violated the symmetrical triangle pattern supporting the pair at the 1.1837 level. At the moment, the same support level is extending resistance to the EUR/USD currency pair. On the downside, the immediate support prevails at the 1.1780 level, and the bearish breakout of this level can expose the EUR/USD price further lower towards the 1.1736 level. The MACD is holding in a selling zone. Therefore, the pair is facing bearish pressure. Later today, the investor’s focus will remain on the U.S. Jobless claims figures as these have the potential to drive price action in the market. All the best!

Symmetrical Triangle Breakout

The BTC/USD was closed at $33886.0 after placing a high of $35076.0 and a low of $33826.0. BTC/USD remained under pressure on Wednesday and placed loss for the day as Goldman Sachs said might surpass bitcoin as a store of value, but not gold. The analysts at Wall Street Investment Bank Goldman Sachs have outlined the reasoning behind the claim that Ethereum could eventually become a better store of value than Bitcoin. The note issued by the bank suggested that the bank has believed that Ethereum has a higher real use potential than any other cryptocurrency, and it was the most popular development platform for smart contract applications.

The bank said that Bitcoin might have its first-mover advantage and strong brand name; however, BTC lacks the real-use case. The bank also stated the reason behind that as the slow transaction speed of the Bitcoin blockchain, which is just seven transactions per second, while on the other hand, Ethereum could process 15-20 transactions per second.

On the flip side, Visa Inc. said on Wednesday that in the first half of this year, its customers spent more than $1 billion on its crypto-linked cards as the payments processor was taking steps to make crypto transactions smoother. The company announced that it was partnering with 50 cryptocurrency platforms that will enable its customers to convert and spend digital currencies at 70 million merchants worldwide.

Meanwhile, the International Boutique Hotel Group, Pavilions Hotels & Resorts, said that its guess can now pay for their accommodation with over 40 cryptocurrencies, including BTC and ETH, and the service will be available from July 07. This was done with the partnership of a cryptocurrency trading platform, Coindirect, to provide its clients the option of digital asset payments. Another favourable news regarding bitcoin was that workers in Argentina might receive their salary in BTC and store their wealth without the fear of inflation. A member of Argentina's National Congress announced that he had submitted a bill that would allow workers in a dependency relationship and exporters of services to have an option of receiving their full or partial salary in bitcoin.

Despite many favourable pieces of news on its hand, BTC/USD declined on Wednesday amid the recent power in the U.S. dollar and the latest statement from Goldman Sachs Investment Bank. The U.S. dollar remained above 92.84 level on Wednesday and weighed on BTC/USD.

BTC/USD Intraday Technical Levels

Support Resistance

33449.4 34699.4

33012.7 35512.7

32199.4 35949.4

Pivot Point: 34262.7

BTC/USD - Technical Outlook

The leading cryptocurrency pair is trading with a bearish bias at 32,986. As we can see on the chart above, Bitcoin has violated the symmetrical triangle pattern suggesting bearish bias. The breakout of the 33,750 support level is exposing bitcoin price towards the next support area of 32,750 level. A bearish breakout of 32,750 mark can expose the BTC/USD pair until 30,219 triple bottom pattern that can extend support. Conversely, the resistance is being extended by 50 EMA levels at 34,195 level. The MACD has entered the selling zone below 0, supporting a solid selling trend in Bitcoin. On Thursday, the investor's focus will stay on a triple bottom support level of 32,750 below this, and selling bias can further dominate. All the best!

FOMC Meeting Minutes in the Limelight!

Gold prices were closed at $1795.45 after placing a high of $1815.70 and a low of $1790.30. Gold extended its gains and continued its bullish streak for the 5th consecutive session on Tuesday and reached its 3-weeks highest level. The rising prices of yellow metal could be attributed to the declining U.S. Treasury Yields for the day that approached its lowest level since February 21 and reached 1.34%. The sudden decline in U.S. Treasury yield could be because of the higher demand for gold from central banks worldwide.

The World Gold Council has said that monthly purchasing data showed that central banks started repurchasing gold after a long break. The report suggested that the organization has recorded higher monthly gold purchases from central banks throughout March and April. The organization also said that it was recording the latest data from May, which also followed the same trend.

Gold prices moved above the $1800 level on Tuesday after seeing some fresh gains and declining Treasury Yields. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will issue the minutes from the latest meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. The outcome is expected to shake the market prices as after the meeting Fed revealed its hawkish interest rate changes that pushed the U.S. dollar higher and weighed on gold.

On the data front, at 18:45 GMT, the Final Services PMI remained flat with the expectations of 64.6. At 19:00 GMT, the ISM Services PMI dropped to 60.1 against the forecasted 63.4 and weighed on the U.S. dollar, adding further upward momentum in the yellow metal price. The U.S. Dollar Index was also strong on Tuesday despite the declining U.S. Treasury yields and poor-than-expected ISM Services PMI data release. The DXY plunged to 92.0 level during early trading hours but managed to recover its losses and reached 92.66 level on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, this week, many Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives signed a letter addressed to President Joe Biden, which urged Biden to include climate goals in the infrastructure plan as it was laid out in the early stages of the plan. The letter contained the signatures of more than 130 lawmakers and demonstrated that a series of bold actions were needed to take to deal with the climate crisis. However, Biden has recently attempted to reach a deal with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in infrastructure. In accomplishing so, he liquidated many of the environmental pledges he made in the American Jobs Plan. In its response, the Senate Democrats started considering a sweeping roughly $6 trillion reconciliation package that would advance the key elements of President Biden’s infrastructure plan. The plan also added some reforms targeting climate change, health care, and immigration reform.

After this news, speculations were raised that President Joe Biden will veto his $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan, which a bipartisan group of lawmakers just agreed after the President made many compromises of White House priorities. However, President Joe Biden refused such action and confirmed that even if a separate Democratic Spending plan doesn’t pass the Congress, he has no plans to veto a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan. These comments from Biden pushed the U.S. dollar higher as the investors remained optimistic about the continuing economic improvement from the coronavirus pandemic.

Gold Intraday Technical Level

Support Resistance

1785.26 1810.66

1775.08 1825.88

1759.86 1836.06

Pivot Point: 1800.48

Gold - XAU/USD - Technical Outlook

Gold is trading with a bullish bias at the 1,796 level on Wednesday. In the 4 hour timeframe, the precious metal gold has formed an upward channel that’s keeping the precious metal gold support. Gold’s immediate resistance continues to stay at 1,802 levels. Well, it’s the same level that has provided resistance a day before, and now gold is gaining support at 1,796 levels. The 50 periods EMA and upward trendline are extending support at the same level of 1,796. Therefore, the traders are going to keep their eyes on the 1,796 level today. Below this, gold can find the next support at 1,790 and 1,783. Conversely, a bullish crossover of 1,802 levels can lead the gold price towards a 1,814 level. All the best!