Gold bounces off 1-month low, still struggling for a firm near-term direction

   •  Extends the recent consolidative price action for the third consecutive session.
   •  Bulls seemed rather unimpressed by a subdued USD price action/cautious mood.

Gold quickly reversed an early European session dip to fresh one-month lows, albeit remained well within a familiar trading range held over the past three trading session.

Following the recent sharp corrective slide from ten-month tops, the precious metal now seems to have entered a bearish consolidation phase and remained on the defensive for the third consecutive session on Thursday.

The subdued/range-bound price action extended through the early European session, with a combination of supporting factors also failing to inspire bulls and assist the commodity to register any meaningful recovery.

With investors awaiting fresh updates on the US-China trade deal, the US Dollar consolidated the recent up-move to near two-week lows and was seen lending some support to the dollar-denominated commodity.

Adding to this, a slight deterioration in investors' appetite for riskier assets, as depicted by a weaker tone around equity markets, further underpinned the precious metal's safe-haven status, albeit did little to provide any bullish impetus.

Today's key focus will be on the latest ECB monetary policy decision, which might infuse a fresh bout of volatility across global financial markets and produce some meaningful trading opportunities.

Technical levels to watch