Gold maintained its offered tone through the first half of the European session and was last seen hovering near the lower end of its daily trading range, just above the $1,780 level.
The precious metal continued with its struggle to reclaim the $1,800 mark and witnessed some fresh selling on Tuesday, eroding a part of the previous day's strong positive move to over one-week tops. The pullback was sponsored by resurgent US dollar demand, which tends to dent demand for the dollar-denominated commodity.
Meanwhile, repeated failures near the $1,800 mark warrant some caution for bullish traders and make it prudent to wait for some follow-through buying before positioning for any appreciating move. That said, the downside is likely to remain cushioned ahead of Friday's release of the closely-watched US monthly jobs report (NFP).
A lower time frame analysis shows that the price of gold could surge towards the $1,840 area if the $1,800 level is broken. Any moves back towards the $1,775 area is likely to be seen as a buying opportunity by short-term gold bulls. XAUUSD is only bullish while trading above the $1,775 level, key resistance is found at the $1,800 and the $1,840 levels. If XAUUSD trades below the $1,775 level, sellers may test the $1,765 and $1,756 support levels.