It has been an active session in gold, with prices rebounding from a significant sell-off during the U.S pre-market hours. A rapid break beneath the 1308.0 level for April GOLD futures prompted a test under last week’s bottom (1306.4) and daily downside support (1306.1). Since then, bullion has rallied on investor angst stemming from today’s lagging Retail Sales (Dec.) numbers.

As I mentioned earlier, the U.S./China trade negotiations in Beijing and a pending U.S. government shutdown are the key fundamentals driving today’s markets. Bullion has certainly been impacted, putting in a whipsaw session.

April Gold Futures: Technical Outlook

The 38% Current Wave Retracement (1312.2) continues to be a monster for April gold. Today marks the seventh straight day that this level has been traded. It is currently the premier two-way catalyst in this market.

Overview: At press time (11:45 AM EST), it appears that April gold is content to rotate in the vicinity of 1312.2. If we see a weekly close above this level, then the prevailing bullish trend of early 2019 will remain valid.

The earlier sell-off brought about a test of downside support at the daily Bollinger MP (1306.1). This area proved to be valid, with price quickly retreating from the intraday low of 1304.7. All in all, a quick bullish bounce following a sell-off seems to be the rule for bullion. Until proven otherwise, holding intermediate-term longs is a solid way of playing this market.