Gold off lows, still in red below $1275 level

   •  Easing US political concerns weigh at the start of a new week.
   •  Surging US bond yields/resurgent USD demand adds to the selling pressure. 

Gold finally broke down of its Asian session consolidation phase and refreshed session lows in the past hour, albeit quickly rebounded thereafter.

The precious metal came under some renewed selling pressure and was being weighed down by easing US political concerns following a clarification over the US President Donald Trump's orders to former National Security adviser Flynn to contact Russian officials. 

Adding to this, the passage of a long-awaited US tax overhaul bill might have now increased prospects for a faster Fed monetary policy tightening cycle through 2018. The same was evident from a sharp upsurge in the US Treasury bond yields, which along with resurgent US Dollar demand was seen weighing heavily on the non-yielding yellow metal.

In absence of any major market moving economic releases, the USD price dynamics would continue to remain a key determinant of the sentiment surrounding dollar-denominated commodities - like gold.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate support remains near $1270 level, below which the commodity is likely to slide towards the very important 200-day SMA support near the $1267 region en-route the next support near $1264-63 zone.

On the upside, $1280 level now becomes immediate resistance, which if cleared could lift the metal back towards 100-day SMA barrier near the $1286 region.