Forecast for Gold Price: XAU/USD pares daily loss over 200-HMA as risk aversion subsides

Gold price (XAU/USD) recovers to $1,785 during the first hour of Thursday's Asian session as market participants lick their wounds following a poor opening.

The most recent relaxation of the risk-averse sentiment, which originally helped the US Dollar prepare for weekly gains, may be related to news from China. Recently, Shanghai City Authorities announced that as of this Friday, they will no longer require Covid test checks at restaurants and entertainment venues. On the same line, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that Hong Kong will "relax isolation regulations" for infected tourists on the fifth day after their release.

Even still, economic slowdown fears and Russia's use of nuclear weapons in its confrontation with Ukraine appeared to weigh on the XAU/USD exchange rate. In addition, Bloomberg released information indicating increased friction between the United States and China as a result of the current measures the United States Congress is attempting to adopt, which in turn threatens the Gold purchasers. Bloomberg reports that the United States is preparing to enact legislation that will change its policy toward Taiwan and restrict the government's use of Chinese semiconductors, steps that are guaranteed to anger Beijing despite President Joe Biden's efforts to reduce tensions.

As a result of these moves, the S&P 500 Futures have recovered from the three-week low to approximately 3,935 as of press time. In addition, 10-year US Treasury rates remain passive near 3.45% while trimming yesterday's losses to levels not seen since early September.

Ahead of next week's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the Gold price may experience a period of sluggish performance. Traders may be interested in today's weekly US Initial Jobless Claims as well as Friday's first prints of the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index and 5-year Consumer Inflation Expectations.