Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD ready to challenge sellers around $3,400

XAU/USD Current price: $3,390.12

• The US Dollar remains under selling pressure amid President Trump tariffs threats.
• The Bank of England delivered a hawkish cut, Canadian employment figures next.
• XAU/USD lacks momentum but keeps pushing higher near $3,400.

Gold price remains stable on Thursday, having flirted with the $3,400 mark early in Asian hours but retreating afterwards. The FX board is all about the US Dollar (USD) and United States (US) President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Late on Wednesday, Trump said he will impose a 100% tariff on imports of semiconductors and chips, but not for companies that are building in the US. Also, he stepped up pressure on Russia, saying he would impose additional 25% levies on Chinese goods over China's purchases of Russian oil. Earlier in the week, Trump hit India with extra tariffs of up to 50% for the same reason. Trump also threatened additional 15% levies on Japanese imports.

Other than that, the Bank of England (BoE) announced its decision on monetary policy. As widely anticipated, the central bank delivered a 25-basis-point (bp) cut, leaving the benchmark interest rate at 4.0%. The decision, however, was considered hawkish, as four out of nine Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members opted for a no-change. Additionally, one of the cut voters preferred a 50 bps trim. The central bank repeated that it will maintain a gradual and careful approach to further withdrawal of monetary policy restraint.

On Friday, Canada will publish its monthly employment report, expected to show the country added 13.5K new jobs in July. The Unemployment Rate is foreseen ticking higher to 7% from the current 6.9%.

Federal Reserve (Fed) speakers will also gather attention amid mounting speculation that the central bank may trim interest rates in September.

XAU/USD short-term technical outlook

XAU/USD resumed its advance after the US opening and trades at around $3,390 a troy ounce. The daily chart shows gold surpassed its previous weekly peak, but there was no major breakout, with the pair still struggling to extend gains. A mildly bullish 20 Simple Moving Average (SMA) keeps acting as dynamic support at around $3,350, while the 100 and 200 SMAs maintain their upward slopes below the shorter one, supportive of a bullish extension. Finally, technical indicators turned marginally higher within positive levels, skewing the risk to the upside despite lacking momentum.

Bulls are in charge in the near term. The XAU/USD pair 4-hour chart shows technical indicators resumed their advances within positive levels, while buyers keep defending the downside around a bullish 20 SMA now at $3,374.50. The longer moving averages remain flat below the shorter one, failing to provide clear directional clues. The XAU/USD needs to run past $3,407 and settle above the level to be able to extend gains heading into the weekly close.

Support levels: 3,374.50 3,350.00 3.338.60

Resistance levels: 3,407.75 3,420.10 3,414.65