Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD loses traction before reaching $1,850, tests trend line

• XAU/USD clings to modest daily gains around $1,840.
• Ascending trend line on one-hour chart forms strong support. 
• $1,857 could be seen as the next target if gold manages to break above $1,850.

The XAU/USD pair climbed to a daily high of $1,847 in the early trading hours of the European session but struggled to preserve its bullish momentum. With the greenback starting to find demand ahead of key inflation data from the US, the pair edged lower and was last seen posting small daily gains at $1,841.50.

Gold technical outlook

Despite the recent pullback, gold continues to float above the ascending trend line coming from February 4 on the one-hour chart. Unless gold breaks below that line, which is located around $1,837 and reinforced by the 50-hour SMA, bulls could look to remain in control of the price action in the near term. Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the same chart hold above 50, suggesting that the latest decline is a technical correction for the time being.

On the upside, the initial hurdle aligns at $1,850 ahead of the next static resistance at $1,857. On the other hand, the 200-hour SMA forms strong support at $1,835 a little below the trend line and is defending the next downside target at $1,830.

Gold one-hour chart

Additional levels to watch for