Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD buyers re-emerge ahead of the key Fed event risk

Gold price bounces after the previous retreat from record highs, as Fed verdict looms.
The US Dollar returns to the red amid pre-Fed caution and sluggish Treasury bond yields.
Gold price could retest lifetime highs at $2,590 amid the bullish daily RSI and while above $2,560.

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

Gold price is finding some fresh demand near $2,570 early Wednesday, as buyers look to fight back control following the previous day’s correction from record highs of $2,590. Traders, however, could refrain from placing fresh directional bets on Gold price in the lead-up to all-important US Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy announcements.

Gold price eyes Fed interest rate decision and Powell speech

On the Fed day, markets continue to price in a 65% probability of 50 basis points (bps) interest rate cut, the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showed, reviving the selling interest around the US Dollar (USD), as the US Treasury bond yields also turn defensive amidst the market caution.

Thus. Gold price attempts to retake the all-time-high just shy of the $2,600 mark, with eyes on the Fed verdict, Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference and the Dot Plot chart, all of which will help gauge the US central bank’s future policy action.

If the Fed delivers a 25 bps rate cut later this Wednesday, it could fuel a knee-jerk US Dollar upswing. However, the immediate reaction to the Fed announcements could be overshadowed by the implications of the Fed’s projections and Powell’s words. Gold price, therefore, remains subject to intense volatility during the Fed event.

An outrightly dovish outcome and rate projections by the world’s most powerful central bank could prompt Gold price to refresh record highs at the expense of the US Dollar. "A dovish Fed on a substantial easing path should generally lead to a weaker dollar," said Nathan Swami, head of currency trading at Citi in Singapore.

In contrast, should the Fed acknowledge potential upside risks to inflation and maintain a cautious tone, it could bring the hawks back in the game, weighing negatively on the non-interest-bearing Gold price.

Gold price corrected briefly from record highs on Tuesday, courtesy of a profit-taking spree in the US Dollar ahead of the Fed event while strong US Retail Sales data also contributed to the resurgent USD demand. US Retail Sales rebounded by 0.1% MoM in August, data showed on Tuesday, against expectations for a 0.2% contraction. Data somewhat eased fears over a potential US ‘hard-landing’.

Gold price technical analysis: Daily chart

Gold buyers regain control, as the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains comfortably above the 50 level, having eased off from near the overbought territory.

The optimism prevails so long as they defend the one-and-a-half-month-old symmetrical triangle target now support at $2,560.

That said, the immediate resistance is seen at the record high of $2,590, above which the $2,600 level will be tested.

Acceptance above that level will call for a test of the $2,650 psychological barrier.

If the Fed disappoints the doves, Gold price could witness a fresh sell-off, which could challenge the August 20 high of $2,532.

Additional declines will threaten the 21-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $2,522, below which the $2,500 mark will be on sellers’ radars.

Economic Indicator

Fed Interest Rate Decision

The Federal Reserve (Fed) deliberates on monetary policy and makes a decision on interest rates at eight pre-scheduled meetings per year. It has two mandates: to keep inflation at 2%, and to maintain full employment. Its main tool for achieving this is by setting interest rates – both at which it lends to banks and banks lend to each other. If it decides to hike rates, the US Dollar (USD) tends to strengthen as it attracts more foreign capital inflows. If it cuts rates, it tends to weaken the USD as capital drains out to countries offering higher returns. If rates are left unchanged, attention turns to the tone of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement, and whether it is hawkish (expectant of higher future interest rates), or dovish (expectant of lower future rates).

GBP/USD keeps the firm tone above 1.3600

GBP/USD clings to its daily gains, although it gives back some of them and recedes toward the 1.3630-1.3620 band on Thursday. Cable’s uptick comes despite the modest bounce in the Greenback, while investors gear up for key data releases on the UK calendar on Friday.

EUR/USD treads water near 1.1670

EUR/USD gives away all its initial gains and receded to the sub-1.1700 region. The US Dollar’s late recovery has dragged the pair lower, leaving it practically unchanged following the NA session on Thursday. In the meantime, investors gear up for the release of preliminary S&P Global Manufacturing and Services PMIs on both sides of the Atlantic on Friday.

Gold holds above $4,500 as rising bond yields offset reduced Fed hike bets

Gold holds steady above $4,500 during the Asian session on Friday amid a combination of diverging forces. Reduced Fed rate-hike bets keep US Dollar bulls on the back foot and support the non-yielding bullion. However, higher US bond yields, bolstered by inflation risks stemming from volatile oil prices due to the US-Iran standoff, could limit USD losses and cap the commodity. Nevertheless, XAU/USD remains on track to register gains for the third straight week.

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$20 billion offered, $2 billion taken: Why Treasury doubled its buyback cap

The US Treasury moved off its own calendar on Wednesday, and that is the part worth sitting with. At 12:32 GMT, the department said it would at least double the size of liquidity support buyback operations in the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sectors, lifting the maximum from $2 billion per operation to at least $4 billion, effective September 9 and running to November 4.