Gold well-bid near 4-week highs

Gold extended its recent recovery trend from 10-month through and rose for the third consecutive session in the new-year to touch the highest level since Dec. 7.

Currently trading around $1173 level, having posted a session high at $1179, the precious metal gained fresh traction on Thursday as the US Dollar extended its retracement from a 14-year high, touched earlier this week, after the Fed minutes showed high dependency on expected fiscal measures by Trump administration. A weaker greenback lends support to dollar-denominated commodities, including gold. 

In addition to this, persistent weak sentiment surrounding European equity markets provided additional support to the yellow metal's safe-haven appeal, lifting it the highest level in almost a month. However, a minor bounce back in the US treasury bond yields seems to have restricted further upside for the non-yielding precious metal. 

Moving ahead, today's ADP report would provide an early estimate for the official monthly jobs report and might provide fresh impetus. However, the broader trend would remain dependent on US Dollar price dynamics, which would take fresh cues from Friday's NFP data and would eventually help investors to determine the next leg of directional move for gold prices. 

Technical levels to watch

Momentum above session peak resistance near $1180 level is likely to confront resistance near $1183-85 region ahead of $1190 resistance above which the metal seems all set to head towards 50-day SMA resistance near $1200 handle. On the flip side, $1168 level is likely to act as immediate support, which if broken is likely to accelerate the slide towards session low support near $1163 region, en-route $1150 important support.