Gold holds steady near $1475, weaker USD lends some support

• A subdued USD demand initially extended some support to gold.
• Renewed US-China trade optimism capped any strong move up.
• The downside seems limited amid mixed trade-related headlines.

Gold struggled to capitalize on the attempted intraday positive move and is currently placed near the lower end of its daily range, around the $1475 region.

Following the previous session's rejection slide from the vicinity of the 100-day SMA support-turned-resistance, a subdued US dollar demand extended some support to the dollar-denominated commodity during the Asian session on Thursday.

Focus remains on trade developments

The greenback remained on the defensive in the wake of Wednesday's disappointing macro releases, showing that private-sector employers added 67K jobs in November and the US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI fell more-than-expected to 53.9.

The uptick, however, lacked any strong bullish conviction amid renewed trade optimism, led by a Bloomberg report on Wednesday indicating that the US and China are moving closer to a deal before the 15 December tariffs deadline.

This was followed by upbeat trade-related comments from the US President Donald Trump, saying that talks with China were going very well. This eventually boosted the global risk sentiment and dented the precious metal's perceived safe-haven status.

Meanwhile, the fact that Trump on Tuesday said that a trade deal with China may not come until after the 2020 US presidential election might keep a lid on the latest optimism and help limit any sharp pullback, at least for the time being.

Hence, it will be prudent to wait for some strong follow-through selling before confirming that the recent recovery move might have already run out of the steam and positioning for the resumption of the near-term depreciating move.

Technical levels to watch