Gold: Next week's key macroeconomic events to keep an eye on

After starting the week above $1,900, gold lost its traction and dropped to a fresh monthly low of $1,860 on Thursday as the European Central Bank's dovish tone and the risk-off environment boosted the demand for the USD. Although XAU/USD was able to stage a technical correction on Friday, it lost more than 1% on a weekly basis and closed at $1,879.

Coming up next week

All eyes next week will be on the United States presidential election on November 3rd and the market volatility is expected to heighten with the outcome having a significant impact on market sentiment. 

Previewing the potential impact of the election outcome on gold, "gold heavily depends on stimulus, and the more, the merrier," said FXStreet analyst Yohay Elam. "The optimal scenario is a clean Democratic sweep, followed by a Trump victory. A split between President Trump and the Senate is the worst outcome."

The IHS Markit and the ISM both will be releasing the October Manufacturing and Services PMI reports for the US but the market reaction is likely to remain muted. Later in the week, the Bank of England (BoE) will publish its Monetary Policy Report. If the BoE signals a dovish shift in its policy outlook in the wake of the second national lockdown in the UK, we could see gold gather strength against major currencies as a safer alternative. On Friday, Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) from the US will be watched closely by the market participants. Markets expect the NFP to increase by 700K in October.

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