Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD aims for fresh record highs

XAU/USD Current price: $2,527.99

• Upbeat United States Gross Domestic Product figures undermine the market mood.
• Investors await US PCE inflation figures, the Federal Reserve's favorite inflation gauge.
• XAU/USD resumed its advance and aims to extend gains beyond the $2,531.60 record high.

Spot Gold keeps trading within familiar levels, confined to a horizontal channel defined by the all-time high at $2,513.99 and the low posted this week at $2,493.49. XAU/USD is finding buyers on dips and currently stands at $2,528, as the upbeat tone of Wall Street weighs on the US Dollar. United States (US) indexes reversed per-opening losses and posted solid advances following the release of encouraging US data.

The US published the second estimate of the Q2 Gross Domestic Product (GDP), upwardly revised to 3% from the initial estimate of 2.8%. Additionally, Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended August 23, which decreased to 231K, beating expectations. Resilient economic growth despite the Federal Reserve (Fed) keeping interest rates near record highs boosted the mood.

Stock markets were under pressure throughout the first half of the day as NVIDIA released the second quarter earnings report. Earnings were upbeat, but the outlook failed to impress, resulting in shares losing roughly 7% after Wednesday’s close and dragging the tech sector lower. The recovery began during European trading hours, extending into the American session.

Investors are now waiting for US inflation-related data. The country will publish the July Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, which is expected to have increased by 0.2% MoM y and 2.6% YoY, ticking higher from June figures.

XAU/USD short-term technical outlook  

From a technical point of view, the daily chart for the XAU/USD pair shows bulls have retaken control and aim to challenge the mentioned all-time high. Technical indicators turned higher within positive levels, and remain below their weekly highs, suggesting there is room to extend the current advance. At the same time, Gold develops above all its moving averages, with a bullish 20 Simple Moving Average (SMA) slowly grinding higher in the $2,470 region. The 100 and 200 SMAs, in the meantime, maintain their bullish slopes far below the shorter one.

The risk skews to the upside in the near term, although the momentum is limited. In the 4-hour chart, XAU/USD recovered above a flat 20 SMA, although the 100 and 200 SMAs head firmly north below the current level. Finally, technical indicators stabilized well above their midlines, lacking clear directional strength.

Support levels: 2,516.70 2,508.80 2,496.40

Resistance levels: 2,531.60 2,542.00 2,555.00