• XAU/USD flatlines at $4.600 after rejection at $4,700 earlier this week.
• Investors bide their time on Friday, awaiting Fed Warsh’s speech at Jackson Hole.
• Gold maintains a bullish bias while above the 200-day SMA.

Gold (XAU/USD) trades practically flat for the second consecutive day on Friday, with the rejection from three-month highs near $4,700 hit earlier in the week contained at a previous resistance area, just below $4,600. Market volatility remains subdued on Friday, with investors focusing on Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium, due later in the day. 

Investors expect Warsh to overcome his distaste for forward guidance and show some hints about the central bank’s near-term policy plans to tame price pressures, amid calls for interest rate hikes from board members.

On Thursday, Kansas Fed President Jeffrey Schmidt said on CNBC that inflation is “still sticky and we’ve got to continue to find ways to break through”, Later on the day,  Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack reiterated that it is “time to act” to bring inflation back to target.

Technical Analysis: Bulls remain in charge while above the 200-day SMA

XAU/USD trades at $4,599 with the broader bullish stance in play as spot price holds well above the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), now around $4,525. Momentum indicators in the daily chart endorse the bullish view, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 66.48 after pulling back from overbought extremes, and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) holding within positive territory.

Bears remain contained above late-May highs in the $4,590 area so far, closing the path to the mentioned 200-day SMA at $4,527. Below there, the next downside target would be the August 13 high and August 20 low, at the $4,450 area.

Upside attempts remain capped ahead of the $4,700 level (Tuesday’s high), ahead of the May 12 high at $4,773 and April’s peak, near $4,900.