Gold sits near 2-week tops, just above $1520 level

Gold edged higher during the early European session on Tuesday and remained well within the striking distance of over two-week tops set in the previous session.
 
The precious metal added to last week's goodish recovery gains from over one-month lows and gained some follow-through positive traction on Monday amid reviving safe-haven demand. Against the backdrop of the recent escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, a raft of downbeat Euro-zone macro data on Monday fueled concerns about global economic growth and boosted demand for traditional safe-haven assets - including Gold.

Diverging forces failed to provide a fresh impetus

The global flight to safety was further reinforced by a fresh leg of a free-fall in the US Treasury bond yields, which provided an additional boost to the non-yielding yellow metal and remained supportive of the positive momentum. However, a strong pickup in the US Dollar demand turned out to be the only factor that kept a lid on any strong follow-through appreciating move for the dollar-denominated commodity - Gold.
 
With the greenback holding on to its overnight gains, uncertainty surrounding global trade issues continued lending some support and helped limit any meaningful pullback. In the latest trade-related development, the US-Japan trade talks ended without any solution to the US President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on the $50 billion in cars and parts shipped by Japan to the US annually.
 
It, however, remains to be seen if bulls are able to capitalize on the recent positive move or the commodity meets with some supply at higher levels as market participants still await any signs of progress in the US-China trade negotiations. Later during the early North-American session, the US economic docket - highlighting the release of Conference Board's Confidence Index - might be looked upon for some short-term trading opportunities.

Technical levels to watch