Gold inched higher on Friday, increasing the price of yellow metal to more than $1320.00 an ounce after some key economic releases. The technical bias remains bearish because of a lower low in the recent downside move.

XAU/USD Technical Analysis

As of this writing, the precious metal is being traded near $1329.46 an ounce. A hurdle can be noted near $1350, a key psychological level ahead of $1357, the high of the last major upside rally on the daily chart and then $1400, the psychological level. A break and daily closing above the $1400 level shall trigger renewed buying interest, validating a rally towards the $1440 resistance zone.

On the downside, a support may be noted around $1311, an immediate horizontal support ahead of $1300, the psychological level as well as another key horizontal support area and then $1250, a major psychological number. The technical bias shall remain bullish as long as the $1200 support area is intact.

US Producer Price Index

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand slipped 0.1 percent last month. That was the first drop in the PPI since August 2016 and followed two straight monthly increases of 0.4 percent.

In the 12 months through December, the PPI rose 2.6 percent after accelerating 3.1 percent in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI rising 0.2 percent last month and increasing 3.0 percent from a year ago.

A key gauge of underlying producer price pressures that excludes food, energy and trade services edged up 0.1 percent last month. The so-called core PPI increased 0.4 percent in November. It rose 2.3 percent in the 12 months through December after increasing 2.4 percent in November.

Trade Idea

Considering the overall technical and fundamental outlook, selling the precious metal around current levels appears to be a good strategy in short to medium term.

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