Gold technical analysis Aug 7, 2015:
In a few hours of Asia-Pacific trading on July 20 gold traded in a wider range than it has in the three weeks since.
The crushing wave of selling shortly after markets opened that day was never recovered. Instead, the market has been in a period of quieter consolidation in the $1076 to $1110 range.
I'm a gold bear but I'm constructive here.
The main event this week wasn't non-farm payrolls. It was the Fed's Lockhart saying it would take a series of disappointing data releases to dissuade him from voting for a rate hike in September. Lockhart is a great barometer for the core of the Fed and his comments carry heavy weight in the markets.
If gold was vulnerable, his comments would have sunk it. Instead, prices gained slightly this week in an impressive sign of resilience.
There will still be a few twists and turns before the Sep Fed decision but at the moment, the technicals tell the story. Gold is in a classic 'wedge' consolidation period and poised to break out any day.
When it does, go with a rally to the March low of $1140 or a drop down to the 2010 low of $1020.