Gold retreats from three-week highs, but remains on track for weekly gains

   •  Rising US bond yields/abating USD weakness prompt some profit-taking.
   •  Sill set for gains of over 1% for the week, first in the previous four.

Gold prices edged lower through the early European session on Friday and eroded part of previous session's gains to three-week tops.

Uncertainty over the US tax reforms kept exerting some downward pressure on the US Dollar and helped the precious metal to break through a 3-week old trading range on Tuesday. 

The greenback selling pressure abated on Friday, which coupled with initial signs of stability in equity markets seems to have prompted some profit taking move on the last trading day of the week. 

Adding to this, a goodish pickup in the US Treasury bond yields further collaborated towards driving flows away from the non-yielding yellow metal. 

Currently trading around $1284 level, the commodity remains on track for a gain of more than 1% for the week, marking its first weekly rise in the previous four.

Later during the NA session, the Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment Index from the US might influence the USD price dynamics and provide some momentum around dollar-denominated commodities - like gold.

Technical levels to watch

A follow-through retracement could get extended towards 100-day SMA support near the $1278 region, which if broken might continue dragging the commodity towards its next support near $1270-69 area.

On the upside, $1287-88 zone seems to have emerged as an immediate hurdle, above which the metal is likely to aim towards testing $1295 intermediate hurdle ahead of the $1300 handle.