Gold lacked any firm directional bias and seesawed between tepid gains/minor losses, around the $1,765 region during the Asian session on Friday. The US dollar found some support after a slew of positive US economic data released on Thursday indicated that the recovery is well on track. The USD got an additional boost from a solid rebound in the US Treasury bond yields, which, in turn, capped the dollar-denominated commodity.

The Commerce Department reported that Retail Sales surged 9.8% in March as against consensus estimates pointing to a 5.9% growth. This marked the best figure since May 2020. Adding to this, the closely watched Retail Sales Control Group, which has a larger impact on US GDP, surpassed expectations and increased 6.9% during the reported month. Separately, regional manufacturing indices and Weekly Jobless Claims also came in better than market expectations. From a technical perspective, the overnight move beyond a strong horizontal support breakpoint now turned resistance near the $1,760-65 region added credence to a bullish double-bottom formation near the $1,677-76 region. The set-up supports prospects for a further near-term appreciating move.