Gold recovers above $1300 ahead of US data

• US Dollar Index struggles to build on Thursday’s gains.
• European stocks post modest gains on Friday.
• Coming up: NY Empire State Manufacturing Index and industrial production from the U.S.

After posting heavy losses and closing the day below $1300 on Thursday, the XAU/USD pair gained traction and recovered a large part of yesterday’s fall. At the moment, the pair is trading at $1303, adding $7, or 0.55%, on a daily basis.

The US Dollar Index, which slumped to a 10-day low at 96.40 earlier this week, reversed its course on Thursday but failed to preserve its bullish momentum amid a lack of fundamental drivers that could have boosted the demand for the currency. At the moment, the index is down 0.12% on the day at 96.60. Later in the day, industrial production, capacity utilization, and the UoM Consumer Sentiment Survey from the U.S. will be looked upon for fresh impetus.  

Meanwhile, European equity indexes are posting modest gains on Friday and the S&P 500 Futures is rising 0.35% to suggest that Wall Street could gain traction in the last session of the week, which could make it difficult for the pair to continue to push higher. Moreover, markets will be paying close attention to headlines surrounding the U.S.-China trade conflict following yesterday’s reports about the U.S. planning to delay the Trump-Xi meeting to the end of April.

Technical levels to consider

The pair could face the first support at $1300 (psychological level) ahead of $1292 (Mar. 14 low) and $1280 (Mar. 7 low). On the upside, resistances align at $1306 (50-DMA), $1315 (Mar. 1 high) and $1322 (Feb. 15 high).