Gold directionless in tight range amid lack of fresh catalysts

The ounce troy of the precious metal is having a quiet day at the start of the week, struggling to find a short-term direction. As of writing, the XAU/USD pair is trading at $1258, losing 0.07%.

On Friday, the pair dropped sharply after the robust employment report from the United States provided a long-awaited boost to the greenback. However, the USD failed to build on its recent gains on Monday with the US Dollar Index trading virtually unchanged on the day at 93.35.

On the other hand, major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day relatively calm, unable to give clues regarding the market sentiment. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 indexes are moving sideways near their opening levels during the first half of the NA session. Later in the session, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari's speeches will be looked upon for fresh impetus. However, they are unlikely to state anything on the monetary policy that the markets don't already know.

• US Dollar struggles for direction near 93.30, Fedspeak eyed

Technical outlook

The CCI indicator on the daily graph is moving around the 0 mark, showing neutral conditions in the near-term for the pair. $1255 (20-DMA) could be seen as the first technical support ahead of $1243 (Jul. 26 low) and $1232 (200-DMA). On the upside, resistances align at $1265 (Jul. 27 high), $1274 (Aug. 1 high) and $1279 (Jun. 14 high).