XAU/USD Current price: $2,459.10

• Market participants increased bets on a Federal Reserve’s September rate cut.
• Encouraging United States macroeconomic data backed the generalized optimism.
• XAU/USD bullish momentum supports another leg north in the upcoming sessions.

Gold reached fresh all-time highs on Tuesday, trading in the $2,460 price zone mid-American afternoon. The bright metal rallied despite a firmer US Dollar, the latter benefiting from better-than-anticipated United States (US) Retail Sales. The US Census Bureau reported that Retail Sales remained unchanged in June as expected, although the core reading, Retail Sales Control Group, improved to 0.9% from 0.4% in May.

Still, XAU/USD rally could be explained by mounting speculation the Federal Reserve (Fed) will deliver an interest rate cut as soon as September. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the odds for a 25 basis points (bps) rate cut stand at 93.3%, while the chance of a 50 bps cut stands at 6.7%. Investors rushed into betting on upcoming lower interest rates after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell spoke at the Economic Club of Washington DC on Monday.

Among other things, Powell said that the economy performed remarkably well in the last couple of years, while easing inflation in the second quarter builded up confidence. Nevertheless he also noted that upcoming decisions will be made meeting-by-meeting, based on evolving data and the outlook.

Wall Street rallied to fresh record highs on Monday, only to surpass them in the current session. Optimism reigns among investors and the US Dollar trades oddly mixed across the FX board, partially benefiting from upbeat macroeconomic data, yet with the upside limited amid the risk-on mood.

XAU/USD short-term technical outlook  

The bright metal has room to extend its gains according to technical readings in the daily chart. XAU/USD holds far above all its moving averages, which offer sharp upward slopes. At the same time, technical indicators accelerated north, approaching overbought territory without signs of giving up.

In the near term, and according to the 4-hour chart, XAU/USD is overbought, yet a corrective decline remains out of the picture. A firmly bullish 20 Simple Moving Average (SMA) leads the way north, providing dynamic support at around $2,420. The 100 and 200 SMA also head higher below the shorter one, in line with increased buying interest. Finally, the Momentum indicator maintains its bullish slope at extreme levels, but the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator turned flat at around 76, suggesting a pause before the next directional movement.

Support levels: 2,448.90 2,435.10 2,422.65

Resistance levels: 2,465.00 2,480.00 2,493.00