• Gold bears remain in play while below key resistance and eye a break of $1,800.
• US jobs market data is eyed as next key catalyst. 

Gold prices fell for a second day on Wednesday although markets stabilised following yesterday’s rout as traders await the February Nonfarm Payrolls this week and Consumer Price Index data next week. at the time of writing, Gold price is flat near $1,1814 and has traded between $1,809.42 and $1,824.30.

Fed Chair Powell’s remarks in his repeat testimony to the House Financial Service Committee were that the Fed is data dependent, and no decision has been made yet about the size of a March hike, analysts at ANZ Bank said.  ''This helped to calm price action, despite the fact that Powell’s assessment is that the Fed has underestimated the resilience of growth and inflation recently. Ahead of the March interest rate decision, Powell noted that the Fed will be watching JOLTS, CPI, PPI and the labour market report,'' they said, adding, ''we think it will require much weaker data for the FOMC to step back from Powell’s more hawkish assessment of the landscape.''

Meanwhile, Gold price is heavy due to the DXY Dollar index rising to the highest since December after Fed's Powell said in Tuesday's Senate testimony that the US economy is shrugging off higher interest rates and emphasised that the Fed was ready to raise rates higher and faster to slow growth and lower inflation. The ICE dollar index was last seen printing 105.66, making gold more expensive for international buyers. Bond yields were also higher, bearish for the metal since it offers no interest. The US 10-year note was last seen paying 3.979%.