Gold retraces off highs at $1205, dollar bulls on track

Currently, Gold is trading at 1205.76, down -0.93% on the day, having posted a daily high at 1217.93 and low at 1204.30.

Fed's Yellen expects rates to be close to longer-run neutral rate of 3 pct by end of 2019

Rate Hikes, bad news for Gold bugs

CNBC reports, "Gold has suffered a precipitous drop since peaking in mid-2016, with Donald Trump's election and the Federal Reserve's rate hike serving as two notable bearish catalysts. Each of the events sent the dollar surging and yields rising — both of which are bad news for gold. After peaking at nearly $1,380 per troy ounce in July, gold found itself below $1,130 per troy ounce in the middle of December."

"Since then, gold has staged a subdued but nonetheless persistent rise. In the 15 sessions since Dec. 22, gold has risen more than 7 percent."

Gold Levels to consider

In terms of technical levels, upside barriers are aligned at 1240 (100-DMA) and above that at 1267 (200-DMA). While supports are aligned at 1184 (50-DMA) and below that at 1156 (Jan. 1st low).

US dollar index rebounds from 1-month lows