Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD at the upper end of its weekly range

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

XAU/USD Current price: 2,042.45

The focus shifts to the US Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index.
The US Q3 Gross Domestic Product was downwardly revised from 5.2% to 4.9%.
XAU/USD maintains the bullish pressure but needs to advance beyond $2,047.90.

Spot Gold trimmed losses and trades above $2,040 a troy ounce. The US Dollar met market’s favor throughout the first half of the day amid the poor performance of Wall Street on Wednesday, but softer US Treasury yields limited USD gains. The Greenback changed course ahead of the American session opening, following mixed United States (US) data. Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended December 15 slid to 205K, better than the 215K expected.

Additionally, the Q3 US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) confirmed the annualized pace of growth at 4.9%, below the preliminary estimate of 5.2%. The gauge was not enough to spook investors, as Wall Street returned to the bullish path, while government bond yields reached fresh multi-week lows. At the time being, the 10-year Treasury note yields 3.87%, while the 2-year note offers 4.34%.

Attention shifts to the US Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index to be released on Friday. The annual reading is foreseen at 3.3% in November, easing from 3.5% in the previous month, indicating easing price pressures. The country will also publish November Durable Goods and the final estimate of the December Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index.

XAU/USD short-term technical outlook

The daily chart for XAU/USD shows that the risk remains skewed to the upside, as the pair trades near its recent highs, while intraday pullbacks met buyers around a bullish 20 Simple Moving Average (SMA). Technical indicators, in the meantime, lack directional strength within neutral levels, as the bright metal remains below the $2,047.90 peak.

Technical readings in the 4-hour chart offer a neutral-to-bullish stance. XAU/USD is finding intraday support around a bullish 20 SMA, which advances above directionless longer ones. Technical indicators, in the meantime, remain within positive levels but without enough directional momentum.

Support levels: 2,034.20 2,022.50 2,009.10

Resistance levels: 2,047.90 2,065.60 2,076.10

View Live Chart for XAU/USD

Author

Valeria Bednarik

FXStreet

Valeria Bednarik was born and lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her passion for math and numbers pushed her into studying economics in her younger years.

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