Gold traded with a negative bias through the early European session and was last seen hovering near the lower end of its daily trading range, just below the $1890 level. The precious metal continued with its struggle to move past the $1900 mark, instead witnessed some fresh selling and for now, seems to have snapped two consecutive days of winning streak. The rejection slide was exclusively sponsored by the prevalent risk-on environment, which tends to undermine demand for the traditional safe-haven XAU/USD.

The global risk sentiment remained well supported by the likelihood of additional US financial aid and hopes for a strong economic recovery in 2021. Meanwhile, the regulatory approval of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine offset concerns about a surge in cases infected by the new coronavirus strain and remained supportive of the upbeat market mood.