Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD downtrend holds as technicals turn bearish

Gold is likely to open the week with intense selling pressure under the 200-day SMA.
XAU/USD continues to struggle as the US dollar strengthens, downside eyes $1,800.

John Isige FXStreet

Gold has retraced significantly after topping out at a nine-year high above $2,000 in August 2020. Recovery from the downtrend has proved to be an uphill battle for the bulls. Besides, the last two weeks have seen XAU/USD drop from the new yearly high at $1,950 to $1,825.

The pessimistic outlook has been validated after the precious metal dived under the ascending channel’s middle boundary. Intense overhead pressure is expected under the 200-day Simple Moving Average.

The moving average convergence divergence, or MACD, adds credence to the bearish narrative. This technical indicator, which follows the path of a trend and calculates its momentum, appears to be turning bearish on the daily chart. As the 12-day exponential moving average crossed under the 26-day exponential moving average, the odds for a bearish impulse increased significantly.

XAU/USD daily chart

Gold may throw the bearish outlook out the window if support at $1,820 holds firmly. Moreover, closing the day above the 200 SMA would encourage buyers to increase their entries. If enough volume is created behind the precious metal, gold will embark on a recovery journey targeting $1,900.

Author

John Isige

FXStreet

John Isige is a seasoned cryptocurrency journalist and markets analyst committed to delivering high-quality, actionable insights tailored to traders, investors, and crypto enthusiasts. He enjoys deep dives into emerging Web3 tren

EUR/USD revisits 1.1780, or daily lows

EUR/USD now comes under further selling pressure, breaking below the 1.1800 support to reach daily troughs on Thursday. The pair’s decline comes in response to a sudden bout of USD strength amid steady geopolitical tensions. Ealier in the day, the ECB’s Lagarde delivered cautious remarks, although the currency remained apathetic.

GBP/USD makes a U-turn, challenges 1.3500

GBP/USD rapidly leaves behind Wednesday’s strong advance, putting the 1.3500 support to the test on Thursday. Cable’s deep pullback follows the strong gains in the Greenback, while investors continue to pencil in a potential BoE rate cut in March.

Gold sticks to the bid bias, flirts with $5,200

Gold is now facing some downside pressure, hovering around the $5,170 region on Thursday. The precious metal adds to Wednesday’s optimism despite the Greenback trades in a firm fashion, although geopolitical tensions in the Middle East keep the yellow metal bid for now.