Gold has been consolidating since January 2 and has been stuck in a channel with resistance boundary the upper Bollinger band around 1297 and support boundary the 1279 barrier. The neutral picture in the short-term looks to last for a while longer after prices failed to surpass the seven-month high of 1298.47 several times in the preceding sessions.
Technically, in the 4-hour chart, the RSI indicator is sloping marginally up while in positive territory and the MACD oscillator holds near the trigger line in the bullish area.
Should the price edge higher, it would likely retest the seven-month high of 1298.47 and then the 1300 strong psychological barrier. Also, if the price jumps above this peak it could challenge the 1309 hurdle, taken from the high on June 14.
Alternatively, if the price slips lower and starts a bearish retracement, immediate support is coming from the mid-level of the Bollinger band and the 40-simple moving average (SMA) around 1289. Should this fail to hold, subsequent declines could open the way for the lower Bollinger band around 1282 and then the next target is coming at 1279.
Concluding, gold prices are still bullish in the and medium-term as they are holding above the five-month ascending trend line.
