Looming recession risk contributes to the positive move

It is worth recalling that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) trimmed its 2023 global growth outlook on Tuesday, citing the impact of higher interest rates. Furthermore, the mixed Chinese trade data released earlier this Thursday raises concerns that the post-COVID recovery in the world's second-largest economy is losing steam. This is seen as another factor driving flows towards the safe-haven Gold price and supports prospects for an extension of the recent well-established short-term bullish trajectory.

Traders now look to macroeconomic data from United States

The aforementioned fundamental backdrop suggests that the path of least resistance for the XAU/USD is to the upside and any meaningful dip could be seen as a buying opportunity. Market participants now look forward to the US economic docket, featuring the release of the Producer Price Index (PPI) and the usual Weekly Initial Jobless Claims. The data might influence the USD price dynamics and provide some impetus to Gold price later during the early North American session.