• Gold gains some positive traction on Monday and inches back closer to a one-week high.
• A further pullback in the US bond yields turns out to be a key factor benefiting the metal.
• A modest USD strength, the risk-on impulse should keep a lid on any meaningful upside.

Gold attracts some dip-buying near the $1,660 area on Monday and is now looking to build on last week's goodish recovery from its lowest level since April 2020. The XAU/USD sticks to its intraday gains near the $1,670 area through the early North American session and is currently placed just below a one-week high touched on Friday.

The recent pullback in the US Treasury bond yields from a multi-year peak picks up the pace on the first day of a new week after the UK government announced that it will not go ahead with tax cut plans. This, in turn, is seen as a key factor offering some support to the non-yielding gold, though a modest US dollar strength could cap any meaningful upside.

Growing acceptance that the Fed will stick to its aggressive rate hiking cycle to curb stubbornly high inflation continues to act as a tailwind for the greenback. Apart from this, the risk-on impulse - as depicted by the early strong rally in the US equity markets - might further contribute to keeping a lid on the safe-haven precious metal, at least for now.

Investors also seem reluctant and might prefer to move on the sidelines ahead of important US economic data scheduled at the beginning of a new month. A rather busy week kicks off with the release of the ISM Manufacturing PMI on Monday. The focus, however, will remain on the closely-watched US monthly employment details, popularly known as NFP, due on Friday.

The key US labour market report will play a key role in influencing Fed rate hike expectations. This, in turn, will determine the near-term USD price dynamics and provide a fresh directional impetus to gold. In the meantime, traders are likely to take cues from the US bond yields, which, along with the broader risk sentiment, might provide some impetus to the XAU/USD.

Technical levels to watch