Gold struggles to extend gains, consolidates below daily highs

The ounce troy of the precious metal had a solid start to the week, carrying the XAU/USD pair to a fresh monthly high at $1258.73 before it eased back to $1256 area. As of writing, the pair is trading at $1256.70, gaining 0.12%, or $1.5, on the day.

The weak risk appetite during the European session helped the precious metal find demand. Major European equity indexes closed the first trading of the week lower with the Germany's DAX losing 0.25% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropping 76 points, or more than 1%, as the session comes to an end. In the meantime, although the equity indexes in the U.S. opened lower on Monday, Gold struggled to preserve its bullish momentum. At the moment, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 indexes are both down nearly 0.25%.

A modest recovery witnessed in the greenback in the NA session seems to be the main reason why the pair is having a difficult time building on its daily gains. After finding support at 93.70 mark, the US Dollar Index is now at 93.85, up 0.05% on the day. Nevertheless, today's narrow trading range suggests that the pair is making a technical movement, unable to determine its next short-term direction. There are no more data left on the economic docket in the remainder of the session, and the pair is likely to remain in its range.

Technical outlook

The CCI on the daily graph recently turned south above the 100 mark, suggesting that the bullish momentum is losing strength. The initial hurdle for the pair aligns at $1259 (Jun. 23 high/daily high) ahead of $1266 (Jun. 15 high) and $1274 (May 31 high). On the downside, supports align at $1250 (50-DMA), $1235 (Jul. 20 low) and $1227 (200-DMA).