The XAU/USD pair closed the previous week in the negative territory and seems to be having a difficult time staging a recovery at the start of the week. After edging higher toward $1,810 during the European trading hours, gold reversed its direction in the second half of the day and was last seen posting small losses at $1,800. In the absence of high-tier macroeconomic data releases and significant fundamental drivers, investors are likely to react to technical price developments. Currently, gold is trading near the 100-day SMA, which is currently located at $1,800. A daily close below that level is likely to attract additional sellers and trigger another leg down toward $1,790 (July 23 low) ahead of $1,775.

On the flip side, the 200-day SMA seems to have formed strong resistance at $1,820. In case the price rises above that level, the near-term technical outlook could turn bullish with the next target aligning at the $1,830/$1,833 area. Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator on the daily chart stays below 50, confirming the view that buyers are struggling to retain control of the price. On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve will announce its Interest Rate Decision and publish the Monetary Policy Statement. Market participants will look for clues regarding the timing of asset tapering. On Thursday, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its first estimate of the second-quarter annualized GDP growth before publishing the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index data on Friday.