Open interest in gold futures markets reversed two consecutive daily builds and increased by just 128 contracts on Thursday, considering preliminary readings from CME Group. Volume followed suit and shrank by around 42.5K contracts after two daily advances in a row.

Gold now looks to $1,800

Gold prices approached the $1,790 mark on Thursday although retreated soon afterwards to close the session with modest gains. The move was on the back of shrinking open interest and volume, allowing for further upside in the very near term at least. Moving forward, the precious metal continues to target the key $1,800 mark per ounce troy.