Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD hovers around $1,800 amid softer USD

• XAU/USD extends the previous session’s gains on Monday near  $1,780.
• Gold posts the gains for the fifth straight session.
• Lower US Treasury yields undermine the demand for the US dollar.

Gold trades with gains on Monday extending the previous week’s upside momentum. The US benchmark 10-year Treasury yields tardes below 1.65% with 0.78% losses enhancing non-yielding bullion’s appeal.

The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against the basket of six major currencies, book fresh losses below 93.50 with 0.15% losses, making gold attractive for  the other currencies holders. The greenback weighed down as investors digested the relative pace of interest rate hikes expectations from the major central banks.

Global stock market remained edgy amidst a deterioration in investor risk sentiment linked to comments made by the Chairman of the Fed’s Chairman Jerome Powell. He reiterated his outlook that the US central bank is on confirmed track to reduce its monthly asset purchase before the end of the year. Further, he added that the monthly purchases are expected to end by mid-2022.

The precious metal rallied to its highest level since early September above $1,800 on Friday before trimming gains, following Fed’s chairman Powell’s statement on the timing of interest rates hike, especially the given current labor market conditions. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen remained on the same line on inflation as she said the US is in control of inflation, and it could return to normal by the second half of next year.

As per the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission's data released on Friday, traders cut their net long positions in gold in the week to October,19.

 
Technical levels

XAU/USD daily chart

On the daily chart, XAU/USD rose for fifth consecutive sessions after forming a Doji candlestick on October,18. The prices crossed above the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $1,793.43 for the first time since early September. The prices moved in the upward channel from the lows of $1,722.31 made on September 30, indicating the current underlying bullish current.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) holds above  the midline with a bullish crossover. Any uptick in the MACD indicator would amplify the buying pressure and the prices would approach the $1,810 horizontal resistance level . A daily close above the mentioned level would encourage bulls to retest the high made on September, 7 at $1,827.32. XAU/USD bulls could meet the upper trendline of the upward channel at $1,840 as the next upside target.

Alternatively, if the prices break below the 200-day SMA, it could retrace back to the $1,780 horizontal support level. Furthermore a successful break of the bullish sloping line could mean more downside for gold toward the $1,765 horizontal support level, followed by the October, 12 low at $1,750.81.

XAU/USD additional levels