Gold Price News and Forecast: XAU/USD trades below the 200-day SMA

FXStreet Team FXStreet

Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD eyes key $1831 support after benign Fed – Confluence Detector

Gold (XAU/USD) wavers below $1850, consolidating the Fed-led downside, as traders await the US Q4 advance GDP release for a fresh direction. Gold lost ground once again on Wednesday after the Fed left its key rates unchanged while maintaining the current bond-buying at $120 billion per month. Benign Fed and mounting tensions over the covid surge knocked-of the stocks and boosted the safe-haven demand for the US dollar.

Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD trades below the 200-day SMA

Gold is currently trading below the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $1,848, having closed below the long-term technical line on Wednesday.

It remains to be seen if the latest break below the widely-tracked average is sustained. The SMA was breached in late November and couple of times earlier this month. However, sellers failed to establish a foothold under the average support then.

Should sellers succeed this time, more bears may join the market, yielding a deeper decline. Major support is seen at $1,764 (November low). A close above the lower high of $1,875 created on Jan. 21 w

AUD/USD edges higher as hot CPI inflation and hawkish RBA lift rate hike bets

The AUD/USD pair gathers strength to near 0.7035 during the Asian trading hours on Friday. The Australian Dollar edges higher against the US Dollar as hotter Australian CPI inflation data has bolstered expectations of Reserve Bank of Australia rate hikes.

USD/JPY meets support near 157.00

USD/JPY retreats for the third consecutive day on Friday, revisiting the 157.00 region before attempting some recovery as investors continue to assess the latest BoJ meeting, where the central bank left rates unchanged, as widely anticipated.

Gold sinks to fresh yearly lows despite risk-off mood as Fed rate hike bets weigh

Gold slips to fresh year-to-date lows on Friday. The metal struggles despite a risk-off mood across markets, as expectations of further Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate hikes continue to dominate price action, leaving Gold on track to end the month in negative territory.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP bulls defend $1.20 as sell-side pressure triggers liquidations

Ripple (XRP) trades around $1.25 on Friday, rising from a short-term support level established at $1.20. This minor upward correction follows a sharp sell-off, triggered amid reports of a hack attack on the Binance exchange that impacted approximately $6.3 billion. The attack drove the broader crypto market on edge, as Binance suspended both deposits and withdrawals to contain the situation.

BoJ recap: A pause for now... but Japan has entered a new inflation phase

The Bank of Japan left its short-term policy rate unchanged at 1.25% but delivered a distinctly hawkish message on the risk of an inflation overshoot. The decision passed by 8-1, with board member Takata dissenting in favour of an increase to 1.5%, while Governor Kazuo Ueda stressed that the Bank would continue adjusting policy as needed.

The 2% inflation target came from a throwaway remark. It now moves trillions

The Federal Reserve's 2% inflation goal grew out of an off-the-cuff remark by a New Zealand politician in 1988. Bond investors still price long-term US debt as if 2% holds, so a change in how the Fed measures inflation would move markets.