#MiddleEastSituation##GoldTechnicalAnalysis#24K99 News On Friday (October 25th), during the Asian session, spot gold suddenly plummeted in the short term, with the price approaching $2727 per ounce, falling more than $8 intra-day. FXStreet's Chief Analyst Valeria Bednarik analyzes the technical outlook for gold.

The latest news states that the USA and Israel plan to restart ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, boosting market risk sentiment and impacting the gold price trend.

(Spot gold 5-minute chart Source: 24K99)

Previously, spot gold surged $20.52 in Thursday's close, up 0.76%, at $2735.76 per ounce.

Bednarik wrote that the recent outlook for gold has turned neutral, but sellers currently lack interest.

Bednarik noted that Friday's upcoming macroeconomic data includes US durable goods orders for September and the University of Michigan's Consumer Confidence Index for October. Positive data might boost the US dollar before the week's close.

USA and Israel plan to restart ceasefire negotiations in Gaza

According to a report by Reuters on Friday, US officials said on Thursday that US and Israeli negotiators will gather in Doha in the coming days to attempt to restart negotiations and reach an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of Gaza hostages.

(Screenshot source: Reuters)

Throughout months of negotiations between Israel and Hamas, Qatar and Egypt have been playing the role of mediators. The negotiations collapsed in August this year when the two sides failed to reach an agreement to end the conflict. The conflict began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated that Israeli intelligence agency Mossad's head David Barnea will travel to Doha on Sunday, with the additional information that CIA Director William Burns will attend the negotiations.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the Middle East this week in hopes of restarting Gaza ceasefire negotiations following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Washington had previously identified Sinwar as a major obstacle to reaching an agreement.

Blinken earlier told reporters after meeting with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed, "We discussed plans to seize this moment and the next steps to move the process forward, and I expect our negotiators to meet in the coming days."

Blinken stated that it is still uncertain if Hamas is prepared to participate in new negotiations, but he urged Hamas to do so.

Blinken refused to disclose who will attend the Doha talks, but stated that Washington is discussing different options to restart the negotiations with mediators in Qatar and Egypt.

Blinken said, "One of the things we are doing in negotiations on the ceasefire and the hostage issue is looking at whether there are different options that can help us reach a conclusion, allow us to make progress."

Short-term technical outlook for gold

Bednarik stated that the daily chart for gold shows that the bulls still control the situation. Technical indicators are showing a recovery trend and are near the weekly high. Previously, the indicators saw a slight downward correction, enough to eliminate overbought conditions. At the same time, the gold price is trading above the bullish moving average, with the 20-day simple moving average (SMA) currently hovering around $2670 per ounce. Meanwhile, buyers found support near $2721.20 per ounce, the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level of the rebound trend from $2601.87 to $2756.36 per ounce. The next important support level is $2698.66 per ounce, which is the 38.2% retracement level of the aforementioned rebound trend.

Bednarik added that the 4-hour chart provides a neutral stance, but sellers have not entered the market yet. The gold price is hovering near the flat 20-period SMA, but well above the bullish 100-period SMA and 200-period SMA. The 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level mentioned earlier provides short-term support, supporting further rebound in the future of gold prices. Lastly, technical indicators are hovering around the midline without direction, insufficient to determine the next direction of the gold price.

(Source: FXStreet)

Valeria Bednarik provides the latest key support and resistance levels for gold price:

Support levels: $2,721.20 per ounce; $2,708.50 per ounce; $2,698.60 per ounce.

Resistance levels: $2,732.70 per ounce; $2,743.15 per ounce; $2,758.40 per ounce.

At 10:07 peking time, spot gold is reported at $2,727.54 per ounce.