Gold flirting with lows, nearing $1340 level ahead of US data

   •  A goodish USD rebound prompts some fresh selling.
   •  Surging US bond yields add to the selling pressure.
   •  US data looked upon for fresh impetus.

Gold extended its steady decline through the mid-European session and is currently placed at the lower end of its daily trading range.

At the start of a new trading week, the US Dollar was seen trying to recover some of its recent lost ground to 3-year lows, supported by a strong follow-through upsurge in the US Treasury bond yields, and was eventually seen exerting some downward pressure on the non-yielding yellow metal. 

Meanwhile, the prevalent cautious sentiment around equity markets, as depicted by a subdued trading action across European bourses, extended some support to the precious metal's safe-haven appeal and might now limit any deeper losses, at least for the time being.

Moving ahead, today release of Fed's preferred inflation gauge - Core PCE Price Index and personal spending/income data would now influence the USD price dynamics and eventually provide drive demand for dollar-denominated commodities - like gold. 

Technical levels to watch

Immediate support is now pegged near $1340 level, below which the corrective slide could get extended towards $1335-34 intermediate support en-route $1327-26 support area. 

On the upside, up-move back above the $1347-48 region might now lift the commodity back towards $1358 horizontal hurdle en-route multi-month highs resistance near $1366 area.