Will Gold Break $1300 Mark Before US NFP Report?

Gold was stuck again in a slim trade early Wednesday, extending the sideway move after posting its longest slide in nearly six months in the wake of Federal Reserve's tapering doubts.

The precious metals market is expected to remain all a bit shy through this week and traders to remain cautious, possibly driving the yellow metal towards $1,300 with growing anticipation for clues about the timing of any tapering of the Fed`s $85 billion in monthly bond purchases, and most importantly ahead of the U.S. Labor Department`s October employment situation report on Friday.

Spot Gold was up 0.17% at $1,319.90 an ounce as of 01:42 ET, compared with the previous close at $1,311.68. Meanwhile, the day`s range is so far between $1,309.30 and $1,315.71.

A number of Fed officials have recently shared their thoughts on the bank`s stimulus-reduction debate. But the fact is more policymakers are favoring a tapering sooner rather than later.

Taking a look at other spots in the precious metals market, silver was 0.31% higher at $21.72 an ounce, while Platinum gained 0.33% to 1,456.40. Palladium rose 0.30% to $752.20 an ounce.

The Fed maintained its quantitative easing program last month, citing signs of "underlying strength in the broader economy." But the aftermath of the recent government shutdown and weak economic data have taken its toll on sentiment already ahead of the infamous U.S. jobs report on Friday.

However, the main question remain whether gold will break the $1,300 mark before October NFP sees the light on Friday. Gold retested $1,306 support level yesterday at the 50 recent retracement level, but bounced slightly off the support with the start of today's session.

While the technical analysis suggests the recent bearish wave is still in check, the bearish bias remains favored so long as below $1,330 resistance area.