Gold rises to $1270 on unabated greenback sell-off

Although the ounce troy of the precious metal has had a difficult time gaining value against the USD in the early NA session, it recently gained traction and turned positive on the day. As of writing, the XAU/USD pair was at $1270, up $0.35, or 0.3%, on the day.

After spending the majority of the day in a tight range above the 93 mark, the DXY caught a selling wave into the London fix and dropped to its lowest level in more than 14 months. The move seemed to have been triggered by the month-end flows but the ongoing political drama in the United States further weighed on the greenback in the second half of the NA session. “Anthony Scaramucci will be leaving his role as White House Communications Director,” said White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in a statement. Reporting on this development, "Mr. Scaramucci’s abrupt removal came just 10 days after the wealthy New York financier was brought on to the West Wing staff, a move that convulsed an already chaotic White House and led to the departures of Sean Spicer," wrote NY Times.

Despite the heavy selling pressure witnessed on the greenback, the precious metal's gains remain relatively limited as the high risk appetite doesn't make it easy for safe-havens to find demand. Major equity indexes in the U.S. are looking to close the month on a positive note, As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 80 points, or 0.37%, while the S&P 500 is nearly flat after losing as much as 4 points earlier in the session. 

Technical outlook

The CCI on the H4 chart is inching closer to the 100 threshold, suggesting that the bullish momentum is building. $1274 (May 31 high) could be seen as the initial hurdle ahead of $1280 (Jun. 14 high) and $1288 (Jun. 8 high). On the downside, supports align at $1266 (Jul. 31 low), $1259 (Jul. 18 low) and $1255 (50-DMA).

Today's data from the U.S.

• Chicago PMI fell to 58.9 in July from 65.7 in June, lowest level in three months
• US: Pending Home Sales Index climbed 1.5% to 110.2 in June