Article by: ETO Markets
Gold prices are consolidating near recent record highs ($3357.67) following a substantial rally earlier in 2025. The market currently faces headwinds from bearish macroeconomic factors, including strong US economic figures like the March retail sales print, and cautious commentary from the US Federal Reserve. Fed Chair Powell's recent remarks highlight concerns that potential inflationary pressures from trade tariffs might delay anticipated interest rate cuts, even with slowing growth risks. However, offering crucial support to the metal is the persistent backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty, particularly surrounding US-China trade relations, continued robust buying activity from global central banks seeking reserve diversification, and underlying softness in the US Dollar partly driven by easing policies elsewhere, such as the European Central Bank. This creates a mixed and cautious market sentiment, despite the powerful uptrend established this year.
From a technical standpoint, Gold (XAU/USD) last closed around $…, just shy of the intra-day record peak at $… reached on April 17th. The price currently sits above the upper Bollinger Band ($…), indicating significant bullish strength but also signalling a potentially overstretched market ripe for consolidation or a pullback. This view is reinforced by the Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 74.53, well into overbought territory. While the MACD indicator maintains a bullish posture, the rapid pace of the recent ascent warrants some caution. Immediate support lies near the latest session low of $… and the upper Bollinger Band level itself around $…. A failure to hold this area could see prices test the next support zone formed by the 9-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $… and the recent lows between $… and $…. More substantial support is located further down, defined by the confluence of the 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $… and the 21-day EMA at $…
