Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD struggles to sustain above $1,780 despite subdued US Dollar

• Gold price is facing pressure in holding itself above the immediate resistance of $1,780.00.
• Interest rate hikes by western central banks have weighed on the Gold price.
• The major trend has turned bearish as the Gold price has dropped below the 200-EMA.

Gold price (XAU/USD) is struggling to sustain above the crucial resistance of $1,780.00 in the early European session. The precious metal is facing immense pressure as the western central banks have hiked their interest rates to gain strength in their battle against stubborn inflation. Following the footprints of the Federal Reserve (Fed), the European Central Bank (ECB), the Bank of England (BOE), and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) have pushed their interest rates by 50 basis points (bps).

The US Dollar Index (DXY) corrected to near 104.30 in the early Tokyo session but has rebounded marginally. Meanwhile, S&P500 futures are looking to continue their downside journey amid soaring recession risk in the United States. Fed chair Jerome Powell in his monetary policy speech cited that “No one knows there will be recession or note”. Obscurity over the recession situation has triggered volatility in United States equities.

For further guidance, investors are keeping an eye on preliminary S&P PMI data, which will release on Friday. As per the projections, the Manufacturing PMI is seen unchanged at 47.7 while Service PMI would improve to 46.8 vs. the former release of 46.2. Investors should brace for a long volatility contraction ahead as the quantum of trading will get reduced ahead of the festive week.

Gold technical analysis

On an hourly scale, Gold price is displaying an inventory adjustment near the crucial horizontal support plotted from Tuesday’s low at $1,777.69. The precious metal has surrendered the 200-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $1,788.00, which signals that the long-term trend has turned bearish.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) (14) is attempting to shift into the 40.00-60.00 but may find barricades as the long-term trend is bearish now.

Gold hourly chart