Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD consolidates around $1,930, all eyes on Fed rate decision

Gold price (XAU/USD) consolidates around $1,930 during the Asian trading hours on Wednesday. Market players prefer to wait on the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve (Fed) Interest Rate Decision and FOMC Press Conference. These events could trigger the volatility in the market

Meanwhile, a gauge of the value of the US dollar versus six major currencies remains flat near 105.10 after bouncing off a weekly low of 104.81. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note has reached its highest level in 16 years, hovering at 4.365%, which could limit the downside of the US Dollar (USD).

The Federal Reserve (Fed) is set to announce its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, and interest rates are widely anticipated to remain in the 5.25% to 5.5% range. According to the CME Fedwatch Tool, the odds of keeping rates unchanged in its September meeting is 99%. However, the probability of another rate hike had been lowered in the November and December meetings, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

The Press Conference by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will offer some hints about the ‘dot plot’ and inflation expectations. It’s worth noting that rising interest rates raise the opportunity cost of investing in non-yielding assets, implying a negative outlook for precious metals.

Moving on, gold traders will focus on the highly-anticipated Fed interest rate decision on Wednesday at 18:00 GMT. This event could give a clear direction to gold prices. Later this week, the BoE will announce its benchmark rates on Thursday, and the BoJ monetary policy meeting is scheduled for Friday.