Gold down for fifth trading session on Fed rate-hike prospects

Extending its slide for fifth consecutive day, Gold dropped to a fresh 3-1/2-week low on looming Fed rate-hike expectations has been weighing sentiment surrounding the precious metal and has kept prices under check.

At the time of writing, spot gold touched session low level of $1242, down from Monday's closing level of $1249. Last week's release of the Fed minutes from its latest monetary policy meeting raised odds of an imminent Fed rate-hike decision in June or July. Hawkish Fed minutes strengthened the US Dollar, which is usually seen as hurting demand for dollar-denominated commodities, like gold.

Even from technical perspective, the metal has dropped and is sustaining its weakness below 50-day SMA ($1250), clearly suggesting that the precious metal is unlikely to get any respite in the near-term.

Technical levels to watch

From current levels, the commodity seems unlikely to find support ahead of $1231-30 region, below which the fall is likely to further get extended towards its next major support near $1215 region.

On the upside, 50-day SMA support break-point, near $1250, now become immediate strong resistance to conquer. On a decisive break above this immediate resistance, the metal could immediately head towards its next hurdle near $1259-60 area, which is cleared might negate the near-term bearish bias.