Senior Trader Daily Update 30 November 2017

Good morning everyone.
 
XAU/USD was driven back down into the middle of its well-established 1265 to 1295/1300 range on Wednesday, finding support between its 21 & 100 Day moving averages at 1282 - 1285. The trigger for the retreat was a revision to 3rd Quarter US GDP data which at 3.3%, came in marginally above market expectations and delivered the strongest GDP result in 3 years.
 
The late in the session news yesterday of a North Korean missile launch was effectively shrugged off by the markets with President Trump casually remarking “We’ll take care of it.”
 
The negotiation / passage of the Republican tax reform bill remains sharply in focus for the markets with its success or failure by year end potentially hinging on the solitary vote of Senator McCain again.
 
The Bitcoin lottery supplied its fair share of entertainment too, as the cryptocurrency traded through USD 11,000 yesterday before a supposed “flash crash” sent it back down to USD 8,500 followed by a bounce back above USD 10,000.
 
Silver has been friendless over the past couple of sessions, palladium’s spectacular run continued however, as it registered 16 year highs. The industrial metal has returned over 50% year to date.
 
Technically, XAU/USD price action has been a gala for the scalpers and range-traders with the well-defined, sideways trading band between USD 1265 – 1295/1300 (which commenced around mid-October) remaining undisturbed.
 
XAU/AUD continues to advance and backfill nicely within the triangular congestion region bounded by resistance at the June 6th high at AUD 1728 and major trendline support at AUD 1659. Dips back towards the 21 Day moving average at AUD 1683.00 are likely to be well supported.
 
Good luck.
 
Regards,
Andre