Gold price remains depressed below $2,900; downside potential seems limited

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• Gold price attracts some sellers for the second straight day amid a modest USD uptick.

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• The overnight hawkish remarks from Fed Chair Powell revived USD demand. 

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• Trade war fears should help limit any corrective slide for the safe-haven XAU/USD pair.

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Gold price (XAU/USD) trades with a mild negative bias for the second straight day, though it lacks follow-through selling and holds steady just below the $2,900 mark during the Asian session on Wednesday. The US Dollar (USD) ticked higher in the wake of the Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell's hawkish remarks on Tuesday, which, in turn, is seen as a key factor undermining the commodity. That said, concerns about the potential economic fallout from US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs and global trade war fears continue to act as a tailwind for the safe-haven bullion.

Traders also seem reluctant to place aggressive directional bets and opt to move to the sidelines ahead of the release of the latest US consumer inflation figures, due later this Wednesday. The crucial data will play a key role in influencing market expectations about the Fed's rate-cut path, which, in turn, will drive the USD demand and determine the next leg of a directional move for the Gold price. Nevertheless, Trump-related anxieties warrant some caution before positioning for an extension of the previous day's sharp pullback from the $2,942-2,943 area, or a fresh all-time peak. 

Gold price is pressured by a modest USD strength; trade war fears should help limit losses

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• Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, in remarks before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, called the economy strong overall with a solid labor market and said that inflation is easing but still above the 2% goal.

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• This comes on top of Friday's mostly upbeat US employment details and expectations that US President Donald Trump's policies would reignite inflationary pressure, which could allow the Fed to stick to its hawkish stance. 

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• The US Dollar gains some positive traction in the wake of rising bets that the Fed would hold interest rates steady in the foreseeable future and exert pressure on the Gold price for the second consecutive day on Wednesday. 

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• US President Donald Trump signed executive orders to impose 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the US and promised broader reciprocal tariffs to match the levies other governments charge on US products.

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• Trump also signaled he would look at imposing additional tariffs on automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and computer chips, which fueled worries about a global trade war and acts as a tailwind for the safe-haven precious metal. 

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• Investors now look forward to the release of the latest US consumer inflation figures for fresh cues about the Fed's rate-cut path and determining the near-term trajectory for the USD and the non-yielding yellow metal.

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• The headline US Consumer Price Index is seen rising 2.9% YoY in January and the core CPI (excluding food and energy prices) coming in at a 3.1% YoY rate, slightly lower than the 3.2% recorded in the previous month. 

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Gold price technical setup supports prospects for the emergence of dip-buyers at lower levels

From a technical perspective, the overnight Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the daily chart turns out to be a key factor that prompts some profit-taking around the Gold price. That said, any further slide might still be seen as a buying opportunity and remain limited near the $2,855-2,852 region. This is followed by support near the $2,834 area, which if broken could drag the XAU/USD further towards the $2,800 mark. 

On the flip side, bulls might now wait for a move back above the $2,910 immediate hurdle before placing fresh bets. The subsequent move up could lift the Gold price back towards the $2,942-2,943 region, or the all-time peak touched on Tuesday. Some follow-through buying would set the stage for an extension of the recent well-established uptrend witnessed over the past two months or so.