Gold in search of a firm direction, stuck in a range near weekly lows

   •  A fresh wave of USD selling pressure extends some support.
   •  Surging US bond yields/risk-on mood seemed to cap gains.
 
Gold struggled to register any meaningful recovery and remained confined in a narrow trading band just above $1290 level, or weekly lows. 

A combination of diverging factors failed to provide any meaningful impetus and led to a subdued/range-bound price action through the mid-European session on the last trading day of the week. 

The US Dollar failed to capitalize on the overnight goodish bounce led by robust US economic data and tumbled to over two-week lows, and was seen underpinning demand for the dollar-denominated commodity.

Even a strong upsurge in the US Treasury bond yields failed to impress the USD bulls, albeit turned out to be one of the key factors keeping a lid on any attempted recovery for the non-yielding yellow metal. 

This coupled with a strong rally across global equity markets, amid easing concerns over slowing global growth, further dented the precious metal's safe-haven status and collaborated towards capping gains.

The global risk sentiment received a strong boost on Friday following the release of mixed Chinese trade data for March, which showed a sharp rebound in exports and signalled a rebound in the world's second-largest economy.

Today's US economic docket, highlighting the only release of Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment, will now be looked upon for some short-term impetus and capture some meaningful trading opportunities. 

Technical levels to watch