Commodities

Gold Price Outlook: XAU/USD Falls Steeply as Fed Signals a March Rate Hike

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Written By: Eno Ikenna Eteng
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    Summary:
  • As the Fed signals a potential rate hike in March, gold prices responded with a steep fall on the back of a stronger US Dollar.

Gold prices fell on Wednesday by 1.63% after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged. However, the FOMC has left the door open to a potential lift-off for a rate hiking cycle, beginning from March 2022. 

The US economy has been groaning under record-h igh inflation, putting a squeeze on consumers and businesses. With unemployment also falling in tandem with rising inflation, little justification remains to continue with asset purchases in a low-rate environment. 

The FOMC statement said it would soon be appropriate to raise rates, but the market appears to be pricing in a lift-off in March, which is also when the asset purchases will end.  

Gold Price Outlook

The FOMC statement provided strength to the US Dollar, allowing the XAU/USD pair to maintain the bearish stance for the day. This sentiment manifested as rejection of price at the upper boundary of the rising wedge, ending with a slight violation of the lower border of the wedge. 

Only the 1815.20 support kept the price from falling further, but the threat of a breakdown remains. If this support level collapses, 1789.51 becomes the next target. 1763.30 and 1741.01 remain additional downside targets.

On the other hand, a bounce on the 1815.20 support allows the price to retest the resistance zone between 1828/1840. If the price breaks above this zone, 1860.77 becomes the target of choice. 

XAU/USD: Daily Chart

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This post was last modified on %s = human-readable time difference 00:18

Written By: Eno Ikenna Eteng

Eno's work as a technical analyst and author since 2009 is well recognized in the industry and on several freelance platforms. He is also a member of the prestigious UK Society of Technical Analysts and a top-ranked participant in the Basic Investment Banking and Asset Management simulations with Amplify Trading.

Published by
Written By: Eno Ikenna Eteng