Gold struggling to extend Monday’s recovery move, awaits US data for further direction

Gold struggled to build on Monday's tepid rebound, from the lowest level since February touched on Friday, and was confined in a narrow trading band around $1190 region.

Renewed greenback strength, as depicted by the overall US Dollar Index, was seen weighing on dollar-denominated commodities and hindering further recovery for the precious metal. However, the prevalent cautious sentiment around equity markets has been supportive of the metal's safe-haven appeal, eventually leading to a range-bound price action on Tuesday. 

Going forward, today's US economic docket featuring the revised Q3 GDP growth and consumer confidence index might provide some impetus during NA session. Meanwhile, speeches from couple of FOMC members - William Dudley and Jerome Powell, might now provide fresh insights over the Fed's monetary policy outlook, beyond December meeting, and help investors to determine near-term trajectory for the non-yielding yellow metal. 

Investors this week will also confront the release of US monthly employment details, NFP, which is traditionally known for infusing volatility in global financial markets and would also be one of the key determinants for the metal's near-term directional move. 

Technical levels to watch

From current levels, immediate support is seen at $1185 below which the metal is likely to aim back towards recent multi-month lows support near $1171-70 region with some intermediate support near $1180 level. On the upside, momentum above $1195 immediate resistance now seems to assist the commodity to reclaim $1200 mark and head towards testing its next major hurdle near $1209-10 region.