A Little Lower As Fed Hawkishness, Developments In Ukraine Eyed

Gold is ~$3/oz lower to print $1929/oz at typing, backing away from best levels and operating at session lows as the greenback has strengthened, with the DXY notching fresh cycle highs in Asian hours.

• The precious metal has traded within a relatively tight ~$30/oz trading range throughout the week, struggling to make headway above ~$1,940/oz as the DXY and U.S. real yields have steadily climbed over the same period, hitting successive cycle highs in the process.
• Looking to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, there has been virtually no concrete progress in ongoing ceasefire/peace talks, with Russian FM Lavrov on Thursday describing the latest Ukrainian draft deal (submitted on Wednesday) as “unacceptable”. Elsewhere, the west continues to impose additional sanctions on Russia in the wake of alleged war crimes in Ukraine, but the EU’s progress towards closely-watched bans on Russian crude imports remains scant, with Germany and Hungary continuing to lead opposition to the measure.
• From a technical perspective, bullion remains range bound, with the outlook remaining bearish following the pullback from $2,070.4/oz (Mar 8 high). Initial support is situated around ~$1,908.9/oz (50-Day EMA), with further support at $1,890.2/oz (Mar 29 low and bear trigger). Resistance is seen at $1,966.1/oz (Mar 24 high).