Gold holds weaker near 3-week lows ahead of US data

   •  A goodish uptick in the US bond yields/USD continues exerting pressure.
   •  Weaker sentiment around equities fails to revive safe-haven demand.
   •  US ISM PMI eyed for some short-term trading impetus.

Gold extended its consolidative price action through the early NA session and remained confined in a narrow trading range around the $1275 region.

With the US tax reform legislation still on the key agenda, a combination of diverging factors has failed to provide any fresh impetus to the precious metal. A fresh leg of an upsurge in the US Treasury bond yields, coupled with a modest pickup in the US Dollar demand continued exerting some downward pressure on the non-yielding commodity.

The downside, however, might remain cushioned on the back of reviving safe-haven demand amid the prevalent negative trading sentiment around European equity markets, and indications of a follow through selloff in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index. 

Today's US economic docket highlights the release of ISM non-manufacturing survey for November, which would influence the USD price dynamics and infuse some momentum around dollar-denominated commodities - like gold.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate support is pegged near $1270 level, which if broken is likely to accelerate the slide towards the very important 200-day SMA support near the $1266 region before the metal eventually drops to $1260 support.

On the upside, momentum beyond $1277 area could get extended towards $1281 resistance, above which the commodity seems to head back towards testing 100-day SMA barrier near the $1286-87 region.