Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD consolidated in a range around $1930 level

• Gold extended its sideways consolidative price action for the second straight day on Monday.
• A strong pickup in the USD demand capped the upside for the dollar-denominated commodity.
• Concerns about the US economic recovery extended some support to the precious metal.

Gold remained confined in a narrow trading band through the early North American session and was last seen trading in the neutral territory, around the $1930 region.

The precious metal lacked any firm directional bias and seesawed between tepid gains/minor losses for the second consecutive session on Monday. The early uptick quickly ran out of the steam near the $1941-42 region on the back of a strong pickup in the US dollar demand, which tends to undermine the dollar-denominated commodity.

However, concerns about the sustainability of the US economic recovery, amid the ever-increasing coronavirus cases, extended some support to precious metal's safe-haven status and helped limit the downside. Investors also seemed reluctant to place any aggressive bets amid holiday-thinned liquidity conditions.

From a technical perspective, the commodity on Friday slipped below a three-month-old ascending trend-line support and seems vulnerable to slide further. However, it will be prudent to wait for some strong follow-through selling before positioning for any further near-term depreciating move amid absent relevant economic data.

Technical levels to watch