Gold             has registered the third consecutive weekly gain and continues to hover close to the July highs, although buyers’ enthusiasm seems to be abating gradually. However, the precious metal could still retain the bullish tone down the road as global risk sentiment remains somehow unsteady.

A good sign for gold             bulls is the fact that the metal stays afloat even as the selling pressure on the greenback looks limited. Moreover, the speculative positioning shows that net shorts are now at the highest levels in almost twenty years. So there is still scope for further rise in prices should the buck refrain from any impressive rally in the coming week.

The Friday’s US GDP report will be important in this context. The figure will likely decline from 4.3% to 3.3-3.2%, which is a dollar-negative scenario and another bullish opportunity for the bullion at the same time.

From the technical point of view, as long as the yellow metal keeps above the $1,215 support, the chances for further rise remain rather high.