On Friday, the gold price pulled back from the current all-time highs of $3,004 to trade at about $2,983. The XAU/USD trades within an ascending channel formation in the 60-minute chart. 

The yellow metal continues to trade several levels above the 100-hour moving average line. Friday’s late pullback helped the gold price to recover from the overbought conditions 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 Friday, the preliminary Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for March fell short of the forecasted reading of 63.1 with a reading of 57.9, down from 64.7. On the other hand, the preliminary UoM 5-year consumer inflation expectations for the period edged higher to 3.9%, up from 3.5% in February.

On Thursday, the U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending March 7 came in lower than expected with 220k versus a forecast of 225k, down from the previous week’s equivalent of 222k. The producer price index for February missed the expectation of 0.3% with a change of 0% (MoM). The (YoY) equivalent fell short of 3.3% with 3.2%. The producer price index ex-food and energy also fell short of the forecasted (MoM) and (YoY) changes of 0.3% and 3.5%, respectively, with -0.1% and 3.4%.

Earlier in the week, the U.S. consumer price index for February fell to 2.8% (YoY), down from 3% in January, missing the forecast of 2.9%. The (MoM) equivalent also fell short of 0.3% with 0.2%. On the other hand, the consumer price index ex-food and energy failed to match the forecasts of 0.3% (MoM) and 3.2% (YoY), posting actual figures of 0.2% and 3.1%, respectively.

Gold Price Technical Analysis (the 60-min Chart)

Technically, the XAU/USD trades within an ascending channel formation in the 60-minute chart. However, the 14-hour RSI has recently pulled back to recover from the overbought conditions.

Therefore, the bears will look to stretch the current pullback towards $2,961 or lower to $2,939. On the other hand, the bulls will look to pounce on profits at about $3,004 or higher at $3,027.

Gold Price Technical Analysis (the Daily Chart)

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

Therefore, the bulls will look to ride the current run of gains toward $3,049 or higher to $3,114. On the other hand, the bears will look to pounce on pullbacks at about $2,906 or lower at $2,835.