Early in the American session, gold (XAU/USD) is trading around 1,955.31, above the 21 SMA and 200 EMA. We can see that there is a strong zone of resistance around 1,963 - 1,968.

XAU/USD is consolidating after the strong movement caused by inflation data. We can see some exhaustion of the bullish force and a technical correction is likely in the next few hours towards 2/8 Murray located at 1,937.50.

According to the 4-hour chart, gold has maintained a firm upward trend since the beginning of July and a correction towards 1,935 is expected in the coming days, a level that coincides with the bottom of the upward trend channel.

In the event that gold breaks above 3/8 Murray located at 1,968, it could mean the resumption of the bullish cycle and the metal could reach the psychological level of $2,000.

As long as XAU/USD trades below 1,965, it is expected to enter a technical correction towards 1,937. If this level is breached, the price could fall as low as 1,906 (1/8 Murray).

In case gold breaks sharply below the uptrend channel around 1,932, we could expect a bearish acceleration towards the 1,915 and 1,906 (1/8 Murray) area. Our trading plan is to sell below 1,963 with targets at 1,950 and 1,938.

The Eagle indicator has reached the extremely overbought zone and is giving a negative signal. However, any technical bounce below 1,968 would be seen as a signal to sell in the coming days.