Steady After A Small Pullback On Monday

Gold is slightly higher in the Asia-Pac session, after closing 0.2% lower at $2031.24 on Monday.

• Monday’s move represented a further pullback from Friday’s spike to $2041.37 and came despite net USD index weakness on the day.
• Nevertheless, bullion continues to trade in a narrow range ahead of key US inflation on Thursday. The PCE Deflator, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, is expected to rise, highlighting the challenge for the US central bank of returning inflation back to target. Fed speakers continue to flag the need for more benign inflation data as a precursor to it lowering borrowing costs.
• According to MNI’s technical team, recent price activity has defined key resistance at $2065.5, the Feb 1 high, and key support at $1984.3, the Feb 14 low - both levels represent important short-term directional triggers.