Gold price holds positive ground ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s second testimony


content provided with permission by FXStreet


  • The
    Gold
    price
    gains
    traction
    in
    Wednesday’s
    early
    European
    session. 

  • Rising
    Fed
    rate
    cut
    bets
    continue
    to
    lift
    the
    yellow
    metal. 

  • The
    PBoC
    refrained
    from
    buying
    gold
    for
    a
    consecutive 
    month,
    limits
    XAU/USD
    upside. 

The
Gold
price
(XAU/USD)
trades
with
mild
gains
on
Wednesday
during
the
early
European
session.
The
growing
speculation
that
the
US
Federal
Reserve
(Fed)
is
likely
to
start
cutting
rates
as
early
as
September
continues
to
support
the
non-yielding
metal.
Furthermore,
political
uncertainties
within
Europe
and
globally
might
boost
Gold
price,
a
traditional
safe-haven
asset.

On
the
other
hand,
the
pause
of
China’s
central
bank
Gold
purchases
for
a
second
consecutive
month
might
prompt
traders
to
reduce
bullish
bets
in
the
yellow
metal
as
China
is
the
world’s
largest
gold
consumer.
Investors
will
keep
an
eye
on
the
second
semi-annual
testimony
by

Federal
Reserve

(Fed)
Chair
Jerome
Powell
on
Wednesday,
along
with
speeches
by
the
Fed’s
Michelle
Bowman
and
Austan
Goolsbee.
On
Thursday,
the
US
Consumer
Price
Index
(CPI)
inflation
data
will
be
closely
monitored.
This
data
might
offer
more
clarity
on
the
US
interest
rate
path.

Daily
Digest
Market
Movers:
Gold
price
gains
traction
amid
rising
Fed
rate
cut
bets

  • China
    held
    its
    gold
    reserves
    steady
    for
    the
    second
    month
    in
    a
    row
    in
    June,
    after
    an
    18-month
    period
    of
    purchases.
    Official
    data
    from
    China’s
    central
    bank
    shows
    its
    gold
    reserves
    holdings
    at
    2,264
    tonnes.
  • Federal
    Reserve
    (Fed)
    Chair
    Jerome
    Powell
    said
    in
    testimony
    Tuesday
    to
    Congress
    that
    the
    most
    recent
    inflation
    data
    showed
    some
    modest
    further
    progress
    and
    “more
    good
    data”
    could
    open
    the
    door
    to
    interest
    rate
    cuts. 
  • Powell
    emphasized
    that
    the
    central
    bank
    will
    continue
    to
    make
    decisions
    on
    monetary
    policy
    meeting
    by
    meeting,
    adding
    that
    holding
    interest
    rates
    too
    high
    for
    too
    long
    could
    jeopardize
    economic
    growth. 
  • Powell
    further
    stated
    that
    inflation
    readings
    over
    the
    first
    three
    months
    of
    this
    year
    did
    not
    boost
    Fed
    officials’
    confidence
    that
    inflation
    was
    coming
    under
    control.
  • Financial
    markets
    are
    now
    pricing
    in
    74%
    odds
    of
    a
    Fed
    rate
    cut
    in
    September,
    up
    from
    71%
    last
    Friday,
    according
    to
    data
    from
    the
    CME
    FedWatch
    tool. 

Technical
Analysis:
Gold
price
holds
bullish
in
the
longer
term

The
gold
price
trades
on
a
stronger
note
on
the
day
following
the
break
above
the
descending
channel.
The
precious
metal
maintains
its
uptrend
above
the
key
100-day
Exponential
Moving
Average
(EMA)
on
the
daily
timeframe.
The
upward
momentum
is
also
supported
by
the
14-day
Relative
Strength
Index
(RSI),
which
stands
in
the
bullish
zone
around
55.0. 

The
crucial
resistance
level
for
yellow
metal
will
emerge
at
the
$2,400
psychological
level.
The
next
hurdle
is
seen
at
$2,432,
a
high
of
April
12.
Sustained
trading
above
this
level
could
set

XAU/USD

for
a
potential
retest
of
the
all-time
high
of
$2,450.

On
the
other
hand,
sustained
trading
below
$2,340,
the
former
resistance
level,
could
draw
in
enough
bearish
demand
to
head
$2,318,
a
low
of
July
1.
The
next
contention
level
to
watch
is
$2,274,
the
100-day
EMA. 

US
Dollar
price
in
the
last
7
days

The
table
below
shows
the
percentage
change
of
US
Dollar
(USD)
against
listed
major
currencies
in
the
last
7
days.
US
Dollar
was
the
strongest
against
the
Japanese
Yen.

 
USD

EUR

GBP

CAD

AUD

JPY

NZD

CHF

USD
  -0.66% -0.81% -0.34% -1.17% -0.01% -0.20% -0.72%

EUR
0.66%   -0.16% 0.32% -0.50% 0.65% 0.45% -0.06%

GBP
0.80% 0.15%   0.48% -0.34% 0.80% 0.61% 0.09%

CAD
0.33% -0.33% -0.48%   -0.83% 0.33% 0.13% -0.38%

AUD
1.15% 0.50% 0.36% 0.82%   1.14% 0.94% 0.42%

JPY
0.01% -0.64% -0.81% -0.32% -1.16%   -0.19% -0.71%

NZD
0.20% -0.45% -0.61% -0.12% -0.95% 0.20%   -0.52%

CHF
0.71% 0.03% -0.09% 0.39% -0.45% 0.68% 0.51%  

The
heat
map
shows
percentage
changes
of
major
currencies
against
each
other.
The
base
currency
is
picked
from
the
left
column,
while
the
quote
currency
is
picked
from
the
top
row.
For
example,
if
you
pick
the
Euro
from
the
left
column
and
move
along
the
horizontal
line
to
the
Japanese
Yen,
the
percentage
change
displayed
in
the
box
will
represent
EUR
(base)/JPY
(quote).

Inflation
FAQs

Inflation
measures
the
rise
in
the
price
of
a
representative
basket
of
goods
and
services.
Headline
inflation
is
usually
expressed
as
a
percentage
change
on
a
month-on-month
(MoM)
and
year-on-year
(YoY)
basis.
Core
inflation
excludes
more
volatile
elements
such
as
food
and
fuel
which
can
fluctuate
because
of
geopolitical
and
seasonal
factors.
Core
inflation
is
the
figure
economists
focus
on
and
is
the
level
targeted
by
central
banks,
which
are
mandated
to
keep
inflation
at
a
manageable
level,
usually
around
2%.

The
Consumer
Price
Index
(CPI)
measures
the
change
in
prices
of
a
basket
of
goods
and
services
over
a
period
of
time.
It
is
usually
expressed
as
a
percentage
change
on
a
month-on-month
(MoM)
and
year-on-year
(YoY)
basis.
Core
CPI
is
the
figure
targeted
by
central
banks
as
it
excludes
volatile
food
and
fuel
inputs.
When
Core
CPI
rises
above
2%
it
usually
results
in
higher
interest
rates
and
vice
versa
when
it
falls
below
2%.
Since
higher
interest
rates
are
positive
for
a
currency,
higher
inflation
usually
results
in
a
stronger
currency.
The
opposite
is
true
when
inflation
falls.

Although
it
may
seem
counter-intuitive,
high
inflation
in
a
country
pushes
up
the
value
of
its
currency
and
vice
versa
for
lower
inflation.
This
is
because
the
central
bank
will
normally
raise
interest
rates
to
combat
the
higher
inflation,
which
attract
more
global
capital
inflows
from
investors
looking
for
a
lucrative
place
to
park
their
money.

Formerly,
Gold
was
the
asset
investors
turned
to
in
times
of
high
inflation
because
it
preserved
its
value,
and
whilst
investors
will
often
still
buy
Gold
for
its
safe-haven
properties
in
times
of
extreme
market
turmoil,
this
is
not
the
case
most
of
the
time.
This
is
because
when
inflation
is
high,
central
banks
will
put
up
interest
rates
to
combat
it.
Higher
interest
rates
are
negative
for
Gold
because
they
increase
the
opportunity-cost
of
holding
Gold
vis-a-vis
an
interest-bearing
asset
or
placing
the
money
in
a
cash
deposit
account.
On
the
flipside,
lower
inflation
tends
to
be
positive
for
Gold
as
it
brings
interest
rates
down,
making
the
bright
metal
a
more
viable
investment
alternative.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *