Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD extends slide to $1,770 after upbeat US data

• Gold is suffering heavy losses ahead of the weekend.
• 10-year US Treasury bond yield is up more than 2% on Friday.
• US Dollar Index stays near 94.00 after US Retail Sales data.

Gold started the last day of the week on the back foot and extended its slide to a fresh daily low of $1,770 in the early trading hours of the American session. As of writing, the XAU/USD pair was down 1.2% on the day at $1,774.

The sharp rebound witnessed in the US Treasury bond yields seem to be weighing heavily on XAU/USD on Friday. The benchmark 10-year US T-bond yield, which closed the previous three days in the negative territory, is currently rising 2.3% at 1.55%. 

Meanwhile, the upbeat data from the US is helping the greenback find demand as well. The US Census Bureau reported that Retail Sales in September rose by 0.7% on a monthly basis, surpassing the market expectation for a contraction of 0.2% by a wide margin. Moreover, August's increase of 0.7% got revised higher to 0.9%.

At the moment, the US Dollar Index is steady around 94.00. Later in the session, the University of Michigan's preliminary October Consumer Sentiment Index will be looked upon for fresh impetus. 

It's also worth noting that US stock index futures are up between 0.35% and 0.6% on the day, suggesting that risk flows are likely to dominate the financial markets ahead of the weekend.

Gold technical outlook

On the four-hour chart, gold is trading below the 200-period SMA. Additionally, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator stays around 40, suggesting that there is more room on the downside before XAU/USD becomes technically oversold.

The previous static resistance at $1,768 now aligns as the first support before $1,758 (100-period SMA) and $1,750 (static level). On the upside, the initial hurdle is located at $1,775 (200-period SMA). In case the pair manages to make a daily close above that level, buyers could look to test $1,800 (psychological level).

Additional levels to watch for