Gold consolidates Thursday's gains, trades in tight range near $1280
|- Durable goods orders weigh on the greenback in the NA session.
- US Dollar Index extends decline for the second day.
- 10-year US T-bond yield rebounds on Friday.
The XAU/USD pair gained traction on Thursday with the precious metal finding demand as a traditional safe-haven in the risk-off atmosphere and rose more than $10. However, as the risk appetite started to return to markets on Friday, the pair struggled to continue to push higher and has gone into a consolidation phase above the $1280 mark. As of writing, the pair was virtually unchanged near $1282.
The lack of fresh headlines surrounding the U.S.-China trade conflict today allowed the US 10-year T-bond yield to rebound from the 17-month low that it set below 2.3% to confirm the shifting market mood.
On the other hand, the data published by the US Census Bureau revealed that durable goods orders in April declined by 2.1% and put the greenback under a modest pressure to keep the pair's upside limited. The US Dollar Index, which climbed to its best level since May of 2017 at 98.37 on Thursday, was last down 0.1% at 97.75. There won't be any macroeconomic data releases in the remainder of the day and the pair is unlikely to move out of its daily trading range.
Although the pair is looking to post small gains on a weekly basis, it remains directionless on the broad picture and $1300 area remains as a critical pivot point.
Technical levels to consider
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