Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD consolidates its gains near $2,040, PBoC rate decision eyed

Gold price hovers around $2,040 amid the USD softness, lower US yields.
Fed’s Goolsbee said the central bank is not precommitting to cutting interest rates soon.
IMF revised upward China's growth forecast to 5.4% this year.
Traders will monitor the PBoC rate decision, US Existing Home Sales on Wednesday.

Lallalit Srijandorn FXStreet

Gold price (XAU/USD) consolidates its gains around $2,040 during the early Asian trading hours on Wednesday. The yellow metal remains capped below the $2,050 barrier. However, the weaker US Dollar (USD) and lower US Treasury bond yields might lift the gold price ahead of the holiday.

The Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said on Monday that the central bank is not precommitting to cutting interest rates soon, and the increase in market expectations that it would do so is inconsistent with how the Fed functions. Last week, New York Fed President John Williams stated that they aren’t really talking about rate cuts right now.

The US Census Bureau revealed on Tuesday that Building Permits declined to 1.46M from 1.498M, below the market consensus of 1.47M. Housing Starts for November rose to 1.56M from 1.359M, better than the market expectation of 1.36M. The upbeat November’s Housing Starts reflects strong buyer demand amid the falling mortgage rates.

China's economy is expected to see more favorable conditions and more opportunities than challenges in 2024 and macroeconomic policies will continue to bolster economic recovery. Additionally, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised upward its growth forecast for China to 5.4% this year, citing a strong recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s worth noting that the positive development surrounding China’s economy might lift the yellow metal as China is the world's largest gold consumer.

Furthermore, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) is widely expected to leave lending benchmark rates unchanged at a monthly fixing on Wednesday, according to a Reuters survey.

Gold traders will monitor the PBoC rate decision ahead of the US Existing Home Sales on Wednesday. Later this week, the US Gross Domestic Product Annualized for the third quarter (Q3) and the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) will be released on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Traders will take cues from these events and find trading opportunities around the gold price.

XAU/USD

Overview
Today last price	2040.98
Today Daily Change	0.66
Today Daily Change %	0.03
Today daily open	2040.32

Trends
Daily SMA20	2020.12
Daily SMA50	1985.55
Daily SMA100	1944.82
Daily SMA200	1956.61

Levels
Previous Daily High	2047.01
Previous Daily Low	2021.78
Previous Weekly High	2047.93
Previous Weekly Low	1973.13
Previous Monthly High	2052.03
Previous Monthly Low	1931.67
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	2037.37
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	2031.42
Daily Pivot Point S1	2025.73
Daily Pivot Point S2	2011.14
Daily Pivot Point S3	2000.5
Daily Pivot Point R1	2050.96
Daily Pivot Point R2	2061.6
Daily Pivot Point R3	2076.19

Author

Lallalit Srijandorn

FXStreet

Lallalit Srijandorn is a Parisian at heart. She has lived in France since 2019 and now becomes a digital entrepreneur based in Paris and Bangkok.

USD/JPY eyes August swing low, near 155.20 ahead of US NFP

USD/JPY retests the August monthly swing low during the Asian session on Friday as a more hawkish repricing of BoJ rate-hike bets and a suspected intervention continue to underpin the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the US Dollar is seen consolidating the previous day's heavy losses amid soft US bond yields, further weighing on the currency pair as traders keenly await the US NFP report.

AUD/USD consolidates above 0.7200; US NFP awaited

AUD/USD holds steady above 0.7200, near its highest level since mid-May, as bulls await the US NFP report for more cues on the Fed's policy path before placing fresh bets. Meanwhile, the recent decline in US bond yields keeps the US Dollar depressed near its lowest level in over a week and acts as a tailwind for the Aussie amid the RBA's hawkish tilt.

Gold tumbles as blockbuster US NFP lift US Dollar, Treasury yields

Gold (XAU/USD) falls sharply on Friday, snapping a two-day recovery after the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report surprised strongly to the upside. The metal briefly climbed above $4,500 on Thursday, gaining nearly 2%, but has since erased a large part of that advance.

Crypto’s $638 million buyback boom may not be as bullish as it looks

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols reportedly spent $638 million to buy back their native tokens in August, up 17% from a year earlier. On the surface, the buyback trend suggests the cryptocurrency industry is maturing fast, adopting one of Wall Street’s oldest tools to bolster valuations and distribute revenue. The headline becomes less impressive once the number is opened up.

Why hawkish Bank of Japan expectations aren't enough to sustain the Japanese Yen rally

The Japanese Yen (JPY) experienced a sudden burst higher after falling back below the 160.00 psychological mark against the US Dollar (USD) earlier this week amid a more hawkish repricing of Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate hike expectations.

Diesel’s record $100 warning: The oil shock hiding in plain sight

The Oil market may look calmer than it did a few months ago, but diesel is sending a very different message. The US diesel crack spread, the premium of ultra-low sulphur diesel futures over WTI, recently surged above $100 per barrel for the first time, reaching an intraday record of just over $102.00.