Gold is down 0.2% to $2,040 after a push earlier to $2,048 levels to start European morning trade. It coincides with a move higher in yields, with 10-year Treasury yields now up 2.8 bps to 4.28% on the day. But perhaps gold's slight retreat is also a more technical-related one. Here is a look at the daily chart:

XAUUSD D1 01-03
Gold (XAU/USD) daily chart

The precious metal is running up against key trend line resistance (white line) near $2,045. And after the strong rebound from its 100-day moving average (red line), buyers might struggle for more momentum from hereon.

That especially if the bond market continues to chop around as it has been throughout the last two weeks.

Going back to the technical picture for gold, a pattern of lower highs, lower lows is starting to form. The key question now is, are we going to see the key resistance level above hold today and reaffirm that pattern? If so, profit-taking and a technical push lower here could invite a push back towards $2,000 next for gold.