In comparison to equities, currencies, and energies, GOLD has traded in a relatively tight weekly range. Wednesday’s dovish FOMC statements brought action to bullion, but did little to influence big-picture valuations. Late-week trade has echoed this sentiment, with April gold futures turning in a modest 82 tick Friday range.

Today’s limited action in bullion is a bit of a surprise amid the chaos in equities. At this hour (1:00 PM EST), the DJIA is down more than 400 points. The mainstream financial media is touting “recession” as a possibility and the sky appears to be falling on equities bulls. Still, no one is running to the gold markets for safety. Going into the weekend break, April futures are barely in the green, by under $5 per ounce.

Compression In April Gold: Is There A Breakout On The Way?

It has been a tight session for April gold futures, with price remaining firmly inside of Thursday’s range.

Overview: In the event that U.S. equities continue to slide, gold should pick up some bids ahead of the closing bell. However, the real story for bullion will develop on Monday’s open. A test of the 62% Current Wave retracement (1323.4) is likely to develop if stocks open weaker on European and American exchanges.

In comparison to the news of the past five sessions, next week will be a quiet one. However, Thursday brings the U.S. Q4 GDP report. Analysts expect Q4 GDP to come in at 2.4%, beneath Q3 (2.6%). While it is tough to predict which way this number will go, April gold futures are likely to react significantly either to the bull or bear.