Early in the American session, XAU/USD made a good technical rebound from the zone of 1,680.89, its lowest level since March 2021. Within a few hours, gold recovered more than $30, reaching the price of 1,710.

According to the 4-hour chart, gold has left a bullish engulfing candle. This technical figure is a sign that gold could continue to rise in the coming days. The first barrier ahead is the top of the downtrend channel formed on July 5.

A sharp break of the downtrend channel and a daily close above 1,716 will be a clear sign of a recovery in gold.

Conversely, as long as XAU/USD trades within the downtrend channel, it is likely to find support at 3/8 Murray located at 1,687.

The European Central Bank (ECB) made a large rate hike of 50 basis points, against the consensus of 25 basis points, and also indicated that rates would continue to rise in future meetings.

This decision gave strong volatility to gold, which helped to rebound from the low of 1,680. The price is now located above the 21 SMA, which adds to a bullish outlook for the next few days.

Our trading plan for the next few hours is to buy above the 21 SMA around 1,706, with targets at 1,716, 1,750 (4/8 Murray), and 1,778 (200 EMA).