Gold price (XAU/USD) rises despite the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has reported that the economy grew at a higher pace of 3.3% against 2% as anticipated by the market participants. In the July-September quarter, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose strongly by 4.9%. An upbeat GDP data is expected to weaken the consensus argument advocating early interest rate-cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed).

Stronger US PMI data, reported by the S&P Global for January, upbeat GDP numbers and steady labor market conditions are reflecting resilience in the US economy, allowing Fed policymakers to designate rate-cuts from March as “premature”. The US economy is resilient amid strong labor demand due to robust consumer spending is setting a positive undertone for the economic outlook, offering an argument supporting restrictive monetary policy guidance. Going forward, market participants will keenly focus on the core Personal Consumption Expenditure price index (PCE) data for December, which will be published on Friday. The underlying core inflation is preferred by Fed policymakers while deciding on the interest rate policy.

Gold price trades inside Wednesday’s trading range as investors bide their time ahead of the US Q4 GDP data. The precious metal consolidates above $2,016 but remains below the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which indicates that the near-term demand is downbeat. The 14-period Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains inside the 40.00-60.00 range, which shows less chances of a sharp move. A downside move could appear if the yellow metal fails to sustain above the psychological support of $2,000.