Peter Smith
Gold's been playing games with traders lately, and not the fun kind. The precious metal just got brutally rejected after two sneaky manipulation moves near the $3,390 resistance zone, according to a chart making rounds on X. These weren't your typical price moves – they looked more like calculated strikes designed to fool retail traders.
The setup was textbook manipulation. Price pushed above local highs twice, hunting for those buy-stop orders that retail folks love to place just above resistance. Once those stops got triggered and filled, boom – the rug got pulled. Gold dropped faster than you could say "gotcha," leaving anyone who bought the breakout holding the bag.
XAU Price Breaks Key Support After Double Fake-Out
Right now, gold's trading around $3,375, down about 0.04% and looking pretty shaky. That might not sound like much, but in the context of what just happened, it's actually quite telling. The key level everyone's watching sits around $3,365–$3,370, and it's not looking too healthy.
This level used to be solid support, but now it's getting tested from below – never a good sign. If gold can't climb back above this zone quickly, we're probably looking at more downside. The chart pattern suggests we might see lower highs and lower lows, which is trader-speak for "things could get ugly."
Gold (XAU) Eyes Daily Order Block Near $3,280
Here's where things get interesting. There's a Daily Order Block sitting between $3,315 and $3,280 that could act like a magnet for price. This zone represents where big institutions were buying before, so it might provide some cushion if gold keeps falling.
The manipulation pattern we just saw is actually pretty common in precious metals. Big players push price higher to grab liquidity, then dump their positions once retail traders pile in. It's not exactly fair, but it's how the game works.
For now, bears seem to have the upper hand unless buyers can quickly reclaim that $3,375–$3,380 area. If they can't, we're probably headed down to test that $3,280 zone whether we like it or not.
Peter Smith
