Gold consolidates in a range, below $1290 level

   •  The USD remains supported by upbeat US economic data and capped gains.
   •  Further escalation in the US-China trade tensions helped limit the downside.

Gold seesawed between tepid gains/minor losses and remained confined in a narrow trading band through the mid-European session on Friday.

A combination of diverging forces failed to provide any meaningful impetus to the commodity and led to a subdued/range-bound price action on the last trading day of the week. The US Dollar held steady near two-week tops and remained well support by Thursday robust US economic data, which eventually dented demand for the dollar-denominated commodity.

However, reports, suggesting that China is no longer interested in negotiations with the US, further fueled concerns about a full-blown trade war between the world's two largest economies and weighed on investors' sentiment. The cautious mood was evident from a fresh leg of a downfall in equity markets, which underpinned the precious metal's safe-haven status and might help limit deeper losses.

Moving ahead, today's relative thin US economic docket - featuring the only release of the Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment Index for May seems unlikely to produce any meaningful trading opportunities and hence, the broader market risk sentiment/USD price dynamics might continue to act as key determinants of the commodity's momentum on Friday.

Technical levels to watch