Gold on the defensive near $1,235/oz

The ounce troy of the precious metal is trading on the negative territory on Thursday, currently hovering over the $1,235 area.

Gold weaker on USD-pick up

The continuation of the bid tone around the greenback has prompted the rally in the yellow metal to find tough resistance just below $1,245 and to revert four consecutive sessions of gains.

The US Dollar Index is posting more than decent gains so far today following the decision of the ECB to leave unchanged its monetary conditions, at the same time removing some tailwinds from the safe have metal’s recent upside.

Bullion has been gathering traction in past sessions on the back of a weaker buck and dwindling expectations of further tightening by the Federal Reserve later in the year. This view has been supported as well by dovish comments from FOMC’s Brainard and Evans, who advocated for a more gradual path in rate hikes, in order to help inflation to hit the 2% target.

Gold key levels

As of writing Gold is losing 0.45% at $1,236.42 facing the immediate support at $1,232.56 (21-day sma) seconded by $1,229.64 (200-day sma) and finally $1,204.00 (low Jul.10). On the upside, a breakout of $1,244.10 (high Jul.18) would expose $1,247.46 (55-day sma) and then $1,251.40 (50% Fibo of June-July drop).