On Friday, the gold price pulled back from the session highs of about $2,715 to trade at about $2,706 after the latest U.S. data. The XAU/USD trades within a descending channel formation in the 60-minute chart.

The price of the yellow metal continues to trade above the 100-hour moving average line. Friday’s pullback prevented the gold price from ascending into the overbought levels of the 14-hour RSI.

Gold Price Fundamentals Overview

From a fundamental perspective, gold trades during a relatively busy period in the U.S. market. On Friday, building permits for December outperformed the expectation of 1.46 million with a tally of 1.483 million. The housing starts for the period also outshone the estimate of 1.32 million with 1.499 million, while the industrial production for the month exceeded the (MoM) forecast of 0.3% with a change of 0.9%.

On Thursday, the initial jobless claims for the week ending January 10 came in significantly higher than expected with 217k versus a forecast of 210k, up from the preceding week’s equivalent of 203k.

Earlier in the week, the U.S. producer price index for December missed the (MoM) and (YoY) forecasts of 0.3% and 3.4%, respectively with changes of 0.2% and 3.3%. The producer price index ex-food and energy for the period also fell short of 0% (MoM) and 3.8% (YoY), with changes of -0.3% and 3.5%, respectively, while the monthly budget statement for November improved to $-87 billion, up from $-367 billion in the preceding month, missing the forecasted figure of $-75 billion.

Gold Price Technical Analysis (the 60-min Chart)

Technically, the price of the yellow metal trades within a descending channel formation in the 60-minute chart. The 14-hour RSI has also pulled back to avoid rallying into the overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to stretch the current pullback towards $2,697 or lower to $2,688. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on rebounds at about $2,715 or higher at $2,724.

Gold Price Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

In the daily chart, the XAU/USD trades within an ascending channel formation. The 14-day RSI also supports a long-term bullish bias as it moves closer to the overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bulls will look to ride the current rally towards $2,747 or higher to $2,790. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on pullbacks at about $2,663 or lower at $2,621.