#Middle East Situation# #Gold Technical Analysis# 24K99 News With the sudden escalation of the Middle East tension over the weekend, the spot gold price surged 15 dollars in short-term after the opening of Asian trading in Monday (July 29), and the gold price has just broken the important level of 2400 US dollars/ounce.
(Source: 24K99) 15-minute chart for spot gold.
FXStreet analyst Eren Sengezer pointed out that if the gold price stabilizes above 2400 US dollars/ounce, 2430 US dollars/ounce (23.6% Fibonacci retracement level) may be regarded as the next obstacle, followed by 2460 US dollars/ounce.
Nicholas Kitonyi, a renowned analyst from financial website FXDailyReport, said that from a technical perspective, gold prices are trading within a rising channel on the 60-minute chart. The 14-hour relative strength index (RSI) has also risen close to the overbought level of the index. Therefore, the gold longs will seek to expand the price to around 2406 US dollars/ounce or higher of 2424 US dollars/ounce.
Local time on July 27, the football field in the Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams, controlled by Israel, was hit by a rocket, causing casualties. The Lebanese Hezbollah armed group issued a statement on the same day denying any connection with the attack on Majdal Shams.
The Israeli Security Cabinet authorized the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense to take military action against the Lebanese Hezbollah.
On the night of July 28th local time, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office issued a statement saying that after 4 hours of meeting, the Israeli government's Security Cabinet meeting ended late on the 28th, authorizing the Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli Defense Minister Jarrett to decide When and how to take military action against the Hezbollah in Lebanon in response to the rocket attack on Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on July 27.
Affected by this news, in addition to the rise in gold prices, WTI crude oil also opened 1% higher on Monday, with a maximum of 77.51 US dollars/barrel.
According to Israeli officials cited by Israel's public broadcasting company on July 28, Israel will severely strike the Lebanese Hezbollah, but has no intention of launching a full-scale war. Israeli media said that Israel has decided to launch military retaliation against Lebanon.
In a statement issued by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Lebanese Hezbollah launched a rocket attack on the town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights occupied by Israel on July 27, causing the deaths of 12 children. This has "crossed all red lines".
Golan Heights was attacked and many countries responded: Iran's ambassador to Lebanon said that he did not want the regional situation to escalate; the European Union called for an international investigation and urged all parties to exercise restraint; the White House said that the United States condemned the attack on Golan Heights and was prepared to support Israel; the United Kingdom said that it had clearly called on Hezbollah to stop its attacks; Egypt warned of the danger of opening a new front between Israel and Lebanon; The French Foreign Ministry called on all parties to exercise restraint and avoid any new military escalation.
In the late night of July 28, local time, Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes in an area near the temporary border between the south of Lebanon and the two countries. It is not clear whether this is related to Israel's massive military retaliation. Later, it was learned from the Lebanese side that the Israeli army carried out air strikes on a house in Markaba, southern Lebanon.
So far, Israeli official has not explained this airstrike.
Two security personnel said that the Lebanese Hezbollah is in a high state of alert and has cleared some key locations in eastern and southern Lebanon to prevent further escalation by Israel.
According to information released on Beirut International Airport website, most of the flights in and out of Beirut, capital of Lebanon, originally scheduled from 0:00 to 6:00 on July 29 were postponed or cancelled, involving Qatar Airways, Turkish Pegasus Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines and EgyptAir.