Gold was seen consolidating in a range through the early North American session. Hawkish Fed expectations underpinned USD and capped gains for the metal. Stagflation fears helped limit any meaningful slide for the safe-haven asset.

From current levels, any subsequent move up is likely to confront stiff resistance near the $1,770 area. Some follow-through buying has the potential to lift gold prices back closer towards the $1,783-84 horizontal barrier. A sustained strength beyond should allow bulls to aim back to reclaim the $1,800 round-figure mark.

On the flip side, the $1,750 area now seems to have emerged as immediate strong support. A convincing break below might prompt aggressive technical selling and accelerate the slide towards September monthly swing lows, around the $1,722-21 region. Gold could eventually drop to test the $1,700 mark en-route August monthly swing lows, around the $1,687 region.