Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD on the backfoot below $1,900, geopolitics eyed

• Gold prices have slipped below $1897.70 as investors await fresh sanctions status on Russia.
• The precious metal has surged around 5.6% in February amid the safe-haven appeal.
• The bullion is retreating towards the trendline places from $1887.66.

Gold price is easing below the trading range of $1897.70-1901.70 formed in the Asian session. Investors are waiting for fresh impetus on the sanctions status on Russia by the Western leaders. The US and Britain have already imposed sanctions on Russia against its arbitrariness.

Earlier this week, Moscow recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as ‘independent’ regions in eastern Ukraine and built up military troops along with the support of separatist leaders. This has been considered a breach of international security and fake assurances on peace-making by the Western leaders.

The precious metal has remained in the grip of bulls in February on improving safe-haven appeal amid the Russia-Ukraine tensions. A juggernaut rally of around 5.6% has been recorded from February’s opening price at $1797.16 to the current trading price of $1896.4, at the time of writing. Adding to that, the odds of an aggressive monetary policy by the Federal Reserve (Fed) had diminished until Wednesday, which helped underpin the precious metal against the greenback.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY) is also oscillating in a narrow range of 95.98-96.12 on Wednesday ahead of quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, which are due on Thursday.

Gold Technical Analysis

On a 15-minute scale, XAU/USD is retreating towards the trendline placed from Monday’s low of $1887.66. The 50-period and 200-period Exponential Moving Averages (EMA) have turned flat after trending upwards, which calls for a pullback. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) (14) is likely to slip below 40.00, which may strengthen the case in favor of bears.

Gold 15-min chart