On Friday, the gold price pulled back from the session highs of about $4,408 to trade at about $4,328 after the latest U.S. data. The XAU/USD trades within a sideways channel formation in the 60-minute chart.

The price of the yellow metal has now fallen to trade a few levels below the 100-hour moving average line. Friday’s pullback prevented it from ascending into the overbought levels of the 14-hour RSI.

Gold Price Fundamentals Overview

From a fundamental perspective, the XAU/USD trades during a relatively busy period in the U.S. market. On Tuesday, the Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index for December improved to 43.5, up from 36.3, beating the forecasted reading of 39.5. 

The U.S. housing price index for October also exceeded the expectation of 0.1%, with a change of 0.4% (MoM). The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices for the period outshone the forecasted (YoY) change of 1.1%, with a change of 1.3%. Elsewhere, the Redbook Index improved with a change of 7.6% up from 7.2% in the previous update. 

Earlier in the week, the U.S. pending home sales for November came in stronger than expected, with a (MoM) change of 3.3%, versus a forecast of 1%. On Wednesday, the U.S. initial jobless claims for last week fell to 199k, down from 215k in the previous week, beating the forecasted claim count of 220k. The continuing claims for the preceding four weeks also fell to 1.866 million, down from 1.913 million in the corresponding period.

Gold Price Technical Analysis (the 60-min Chart)

Technically, the gold price trades within a sideways channel formation in the 60-minute chart. However, the 14-hour RSI has recently pulled back to avoid rallying into overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to stretch the current pullbacks toward $4,251 or lower to $4,171. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on profits at about $4,408 or higher at $4,490.

Gold Price Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

In the daily chart, the price of the yellow metal trades within an ascending channel formation. However, the 14-day RSI has recently pulled back to recover from overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to stretch the latest pullback towards $4,082 or lower to $3,835. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on extended gains at about $4,547 or higher at $4,775.