XAU / USD remains undecided above $ 1,800

• Gold is trading in a relatively tight range on Tuesday.
• XAU / USD fluctuates between the key moving averages.

Gold was unable to make a decisive move in either direction on Monday and closed the day virtually unchanged at $ 1,814. On Tuesday, the XAU / USD pair continues to rise and fall in a tight range as investors await the next significant catalyst.

Earlier in the day, US data showed factory orders rose 1.5%, or $ 7.4 billion, in June. Although this reading was better than the market expectation of a 1% increase, it was largely ignored by market participants. Furthermore, the IBD / TIPP economic optimism index fell to 53.6 in August from 54.3 in July. After these data, the US dollar index remains lateralized for the day at 92.07.

Commenting on the dollar market valuation and its impact on gold prices, “We believe the current view that inflation spikes are mostly transitory and that the FOMC is not actively considering policy adjustments at this time it is slightly bullish on gold at best and neutral at worst, “said analysts at HSBC. “In our opinion, no policy changes, just a modest change in the language of the statement and no more precise new insights have understandably encouraged small changes in the USD, for now.”

For her part, the president of the San Francisco Fed, Mary Daly, said that the factors that channeled the labor supply were temporary, adding that she hopes that most of the people who lost their jobs during the pandemic will return to the workforce as the economy recovers.

On Wednesday, the ADP data and the ISM Services PMI will be seen as a new boost. However, the market reaction to this data could remain muted ahead of Friday’s expected non-farm payroll report.

Technical prospects for gold

The technical outlook for gold remains neutral as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains flat around 50. Also, the price is still stuck between the key moving averages.

To the upside, the first hurdle is lined up at $ 1,820 (200-day SMA). In case gold approaches daily above that level, it could target $ 1,825 (50-day SMA) and $ 1,835 (July 15 high).

The supports, on the other hand, are located at $ 1,810 (20-day SMA), $ 1,800 (100-day SMA, psychological level, 50% of the retracement of the April-June uptrend) and $ 1,790 (low of March 23). July). However, a drop below $ 1,810 could be ignored by sellers and bearish momentum is likely to pick up steam once the price dips below $ 1,800.

Additional levels to consider