Gold holds firm above $1800 mark, just below multi-year tops

• Gold edged higher on Thursday and held steady above the $1800 round-figure mark.
• A modest pullback in the US equity futures extended some support amid weaker USD.
• Optimism over a swift global economic recovery might prompt some profit-taking.

Gold traded with a mild positive bias through the early European session and was last seen trading above the $1810 level, well within the striking distance of multi-year tops.

Following the previous day’s modest pullback, the commodity managed to regain positive traction on Thursday and stayed above the key $1800 mark for the third consecutive session. The US dollar remained depressed through the first half of the trading action on Thursday and was seen as one of the key factors that benefitted the dollar-denominated commodity.

This comes amid growing market worries about the ever-increasing number of coronavirus cases. This coupled with a modest pullback in the US equity futures extended some additional support to the precious metal’s perceived safe-haven status. However, the optimism over a swift economic recovery might keep a lid on any further gains for the yellow metal.

Even from a technical perspective, the commodity on Wednesday took a brief pause near an ascending trend-line resistance extending from August 2019. This, in turn, might prompt bullish traders to take some profits off the table amid slightly overbought conditions on hourly/daily charts. However, any meaningful slide might still be seen as a buying opportunity.

Market participants now look forward to the US economic docket, highlighting the release of Initial Weekly Jobless Claims. The data might influence the USD price dynamics, which coupled with the broader market risk sentiment might some meaningful trading opportunities later during the early North American session on Thursday.

Technical levels to watch