Gold fails to hold to gains, retreats to $1,200

• The metal is back in a previous trading range after being unable to break $1,210/oz. 
• The main trend in gold still points to the downside. 

Gold prices finished the day unchanged, after being unable to sustain gains above $1,200/oz. XAU/USD peaked at the beginning of the US session at  $1,206.65 and then pulled back to test daily lows at $1,196. The move to the downside took place amid a sharp slide in equity prices in Wall Street and a move to the upside of the US dollar against emerging market currencies. 

Near the end of the session, the metal was hovering around $1,200, up for the week but not showing the strength of two days ago. On Tuesday, gold jumped more than $10 and the upside, found resistance under $1,210 and then corrected lower. The main trend in gold remains bearish and in the short-term is back into a previous trading range, between $1,210 and $1,190. 

Technical outlook 

“The daily chart offers a neutral-to-bearish stance, with the price still stuck to a flat 20 DMA but below firmly bearish 100 and 200 SMA, and technical indicators losing their previous upward strength to head lower around their mid-lines”, says Valeria Bednarik, Chief Analyst at FXStreet. 

According to her, according to the 4 hours chart, XAU/USD is struggling with a congestion of moving averages, while, despite holding within positive levels, technical indicators diverge from each other. “The risk seems skewed to the downside, although a break below 1,191.80, the immediate support, is needed to confirm a leg lower for this Friday.”