Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD extends its consolidation around $2,030

XAU/USD Current price: $2,033.05

• The United States' Gross Domestic Product was downwardly revised to 3.2% in Q4.
• Investors await an update on US inflation before taking directional compromises.
• XAU/USD is technically neutral with bulls ready to jump in.

Tepid United States (US) macroeconomic data helped XAU/USD bounce from an intraday low of $2,024.38. The bright metal trimmed intraday losses and turned positive for the day, currently changing hands at around $2,033 a troy ounce. The country released the second estimate of the Q4 Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which showed the economy grew at an annualized pace of 3.2% in the last three months of 2023, slightly below the 3.3% previously estimated.  Additionally,   the January Goods Trade Balance posted a deficit of $90.1 billion, worse than the $-89.1  billion posted in December.

Meanwhile, stock markets spent the day on the back foot amid a retracement in the tech sector. At the time being, Wall Street trimmed most of its early losses, but the three main indexes remain in the red.

The focus shifts now to the US Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index. The Federal Reserve's (Fed) favourite inflation gauge will be out on Thursday and is expected to show easing price pressures in January. That would contradict the hotter-than-anticipated January Consumer Price Index (CPI) released a couple of weeks ago and put markets in risk-on mode.

XAU/USD short-term technical outlook

From a technical point of view, XAU/USD maintains the neutral-to-bullish stance. In the daily chart, the pair met buyers around a flat 20 Simple Moving Average (SMA) which keeps developing well above the longer ones. As Gold trades little changed for a third consecutive day, technical indicators extend their consolidative phase around their midlines, failing to provide directional clues.

The near-term picture is also neutral. Technical indicators in the 4-hour chart have lost their directional momentum within neutral levels, although XAU/USD stands just above a bullish 20 SMA. Finally, the longer moving averages remain directionless below the shorter one, reinforcing the idea of a limited downward potential.

Support levels: 2,027.00 2,019.60 2,011.40

Resistance levels: 2,041.40 2,056.10 2,065.60