Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD struggles to keep $1,800 even as S&P 500 Futures stay positive

Gold prices ease to $1,803 in an attempt to defy the previous two-day downside during Thursday’s Asian session. In doing so, the yellow metal fizzles bounce off $1,783 despite mild gains of the S&P 500 Futures. The bullion seems to have taken clues from the US Treasury yields while stepping back from $1,805.86 off-late.

Fed-backed rally catches a breather…

Be it Wall Street benchmarks or the bound coupons, comments from Fed policymakers bolstered investor confidence on Wednesday. The US central bank board members, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, rejected chatters around abrupt rate hikes while also pouring cold water on the face of reflation fears the previous day.

Also favoring the mood could be Reuters’ news conveying Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine’s 94% effectiveness after two jabs as well as US President Joe Biden’s push for microchips’ supply via executive order.

The news from Daily Mail suggesting no tax-hike threats in the UK’s next budget also brightened the mood. Furthermore, the RBNZ’s acceptance of the New Zealand Finance Ministry’s requirement to consider housing prices and government policies for decision-making offered extra strength to the market sentiment.

Amid these plays, S&P 500 Futures print 0.20% intraday gains to 3,935 but the US 10-year Treasury yields step back from 1.3940%, the highest since February, to 1.3810% the latest.

Looking forward, a lack of data/events highlights risk catalysts as the drivers of the gold price. Among them, the US Treasury yields gain major attention amid Fed’s push to turn down the reflation fears.

Technical analysis

FXtreet’s Ross J Burland highlights the opportunity for gold bears while saying,

Gold is ripening for a short side trade setup given the recent price action. Bears can target a measured target of $1,745.80 once 4-hour conditions confirm the bearish bias. 

Read: Gold Price Analysis: Bears about to burst out of their cage to target $1,745.80