Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD keeps the red below $1,750, over one-week low amid stronger USD

• Gold price continues losing ground for the fourth straight day and drops to over a one-week low.
• Strong follow-through US Dollar buying is seen as a key factor exerting pressure on the commodity.
• The cautious market mood could offer some support to the safe-haven XAU/USD and limit losses.

Gold price extends last week's retracement slide from a three-month top and remains under some selling pressure for the fourth successive day on Monday. The steady downfall drags the XAU/USD to a one-and-half-week low, around the $1,737 region, during the mid-European session and is sponsored by strong follow-through US Dollar buying.

The worsening COVID-19 situation leads to the imposition of fresh lockdowns in several financial hubs - including the capital Beijing and the economic centre Shanghai - and fuels worries about a deeper economic downturn. This, in turn, boosts the greenback's status as the global reserve currency and is seen as a key factor weighing on the Dollar-denominated Gold price.

The greenback is further underpinned by the recent hawkish signals from several Federal Reserve, which suggested that the US central bank might still be far from pausing its policy-tightening cycle. Adding to this, the better-than-expected US Retail Sales figures released last week cast doubts on the peak inflation narrative and support prospects for additional Fed rate hikes.

In fact, the current market pricing indicates a greater chance of a 50 bps lift-off at the next FOMC policy meeting in December. This further contributes to driving flows away from the non-yielding Gold price. That said, the cautious market mood might hold back bearish traders from placing aggressive bets around the safe-haven XAU/USD and limit losses, at least for the time being.

In the absence of any major market-moving economic releases, the mixed fundamental backdrop warrants some caution before positioning for any further intraday depreciating move. Market participants might also prefer to wait for a fresh catalyst from the FOMC meeting minutes on Wednesday and other key US macro data to determine the near-term trajectory for Gold price.

Technical levels to watch