Gold price grinds higher around a nine-month top marked in the last week while staying inside a 13-day-old bullish channel formation, currently between $1,972 and $1,921.

That said, the impending bear cross on the MACD joins the XAU/USD failure to cross the one-week-old resistance line, close to $1,939 by the press time, to challenge the immediate upside.

It’s worth noting that the Gold price run-up beyond $1,972 could quickly challenge the April 2022 peak of $1,998 before targeting the $2,000 round figure.

Meanwhile, the firmer RSI (14) and the metal’s sustained trading beyond the 100-SMA level surrounding $1,880 keeps the Gold buyers hopeful.

To sum up, the Gold buyers appear to run out of steam but the bears are off the table unless the quote stays beyond $1,880.