Gold settled in the green and held steady near the $1,970 through the Asian session on Wednesday. XAU/USD bulls await ascending channel breakout amid Ukraine crisis, FXStreet’s Haresh Menghani reports.

The $1,960-$1,959 zone now seems to protect the immediate downside

“Investors remain concerned about the potential economic fallout from the Ukraine crisis, which, in turn, continued lending some support to the safe-haven XAU/USD.”

“Ascending channel extending from sub-$1,900 levels, currently around the $1,979-$1,980 region, should now act as a pivotal point for short-term traders, which if cleared decisively will set the stage for additional gains. Gold could then accelerate the momentum and aim back to reclaim the key $2,000 psychological mark.”

“The $1,960-$1,959 region now seems to protect the immediate downside, below which XAU/USD could slide back to test the ascending channel support, around the $1,935 zone. A convincing break below will shift the bias back in favour of bearish traders and make gold vulnerable to decline further towards the $1,918 intermediate support en-route the $1,900 mark.”