Gold holds stable near 2-week tops, US macro data/FOMC minutes awaited

   •  The prevalent USD selling bias/weaker US bond yields continue to lend support.
   •  Signs of stability in global financial markets seemed to keep a lid on further gains.
   •  Traders now await the release of US CPI print and FOMC minutes for fresh impetus.

Gold reversed an Asian session dip to the $1300 neighbourhood and jumped back closer to near two-week tops set in the previous session.

The overnight slump in the US equity markets, triggered by fresh global trade tensions, underpinned demand for traditional safe-haven assets and assisted the precious metal to build on last week's goodish bounce from 100-day SMA support. 

This coupled with the prevalent US Dollar selling bias, aggravated by a sharp downswing in the US Treasury bond yields, provided an additional boost to the dollar-denominated commodity and contributed to the positive tone for the second consecutive session on Tuesday.

The positive factors remained intact through the early European trading session on Wednesday, albeit signs of stability returning back to the global financial markets turned out to be the only factor keeping a lid on any strong follow-through momentum.

Adding to this, investors' reluctance to place any aggressive bets ahead of today's important releases - the latest US consumer inflation figures and FOMC meeting minutes, which might influence Fed rate hike expectations, further collaborated towards capping gains.

Hence, it would be prudent to wait for a strong follow-through buying before traders start positioning for any further near-term appreciating move, possibly beyond the $1310 immediate resistance, towards testing its next major hurdle near the $1322-23 supply zone.

Technical levels to watch