The Fed minutes were interpreted as neutral and less hawkish than expected, as policymakers felt conditions for tapering asset purchases had not been met yet. While inflation is above target, the Fed's view that maximum employment has not been reached suggests tapering is unlikely in September. Gold prices edged higher after the release but face resistance from tapering expectations, with volatility expected until the next Fed meeting in September.

1. Gold Supported After Release Of
Less-hawkish Than Expected Fed
Minutes

2. Points To Be Covered Today
• Gold Futures Are Edging Higher
• FOMC Minutes A Mixed Bag
• Fed Not Scheduled To Meet
• Gold Bulls Dread The Moment
• XAU/USD Struggles To Recover On Growth
Concerns, Firmer USD
• Gold Price & Chart

3. Gold Futures Are Edging Higher
• Gold futures are edging higher on Thursday as
investors interpreted Wednesday’s Fed minutes as
neutral after central bank policymakers showed that
conditions necessary to order a slowdown of its asset
purchases had yet to be met.
• Nonetheless, the minutes from the central bank’s
July meeting showed that policymakers in the United
States felt the employment benchmark for
decreasing support for the economy could be
reached this year.

4. FOMC Minutes A Mixed Bag
• The FOMC minutes offered a mixed bag of information for
gold traders, but the price action suggests the news was
somewhat less-hawkish than investors had feared.
• The area of interest for the Fed appears to be the strength
of the labor market.
• While inflation in the United States is above target, the
Fed’s stance that the maximum-employment goal had not
been met suggests the timeframe for a tapering
announcement is very unlikely to come at the September
meeting.

5. Daily Forecast
• Investors will be watching for any signs the Fed will
start to taper bond purchases and end the
extraordinary stimulus put in place to combat the
economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
• This includes today’s weekly unemployment claims,
next week’s central bankers’ summit at Jackson Hole,
Wyoming, the August Non-Farm Payrolls report due
the first week of September and the August
consumer inflation data during the second week.

6. Fed Not Scheduled To Meet
• With the Fed not scheduled to meet until September
21-22, there is a lot of time for the economy to
evolve either to the better or the worst.
• While Federal Reserve officials felt their employment
benchmark for decreasing support for the economy
“could be reached this year,” they appeared to
disagree on other key aspects of where monetary
policy should turn next in the transition from the
pandemic crisis.

7. Fed Not Scheduled To Meet - I
• This may be creating just enough uncertainty to
keep gold prices underpinned over the short-
run.
• Our work suggests to expect heightened
volatility until at least the Fed meeting. We do
believe the upside will be limited because like it
or not, tapering is coming, but we can’t rule out
a good-sized breakout over $1800.00.

8. Pullback In Gold Prices
• On the other hand, if we could see a pullback
into $1737.80 to $1723.60 before prices move
higher.
• It’s difficult to buy strength with tapering
coming at some point, but it may not be too
hard to buy gold if there is a pullback into an
established support area.
• For a look at all of today’s economic events,
check out our economic calendar.

9. Gold Bulls Dread The Moment
• Will the Federal Reserve announce it will taper
down its bond purchases in its next meeting?
• Gold bulls dread the moment in which the
world's most powerful central bank begins
printing fewer dollars.
• Ahead of the critical meeting next month, the
Fed publishes minutes from its previous decision,
and that could rock markets. Concerns about
covid are also weighing on the mood.

10. How Is XAU/USD Positioned On The
Charts?
• The Technical Confluences Detector is showing
that gold is hovering above critical support at
$1,780, which is the convergence of the previous
week's high, the previous daily low, the Pivot Point
one-day Support 1, and more.
• If the yellow metal fails to cling onto that level, it
could extend its falls until $1,765, which is a cluster
of lines including the PP one-day S3 and the
previous month's low.

11. How Is XAU/USD Positioned On The
Charts?
• Resistance is at $1,788, which is the confluence
of the Simple Moving Average 200-15m, the
Bollinger Band 1h-Middle, the SMA 10-1h, the
SMA 5-4h and more.
• Further above, the upside target in case the Fed
is dovish, awaits at $1,804, which is where the
Fibonacci 161.8% one-day hits the price.

12. XAU/USD resistance and support levels

13. XAU/USD Struggles To Recover On
Growth Concerns, Firmer USD
• Gold price is sold-off into hawkish Fed minutes,
signaling tapering this year.
• Dollar bulls flex their muscles, covid fears add to
their strength.
• Gold (XAU/USD) fades bounce off intraday low,
down 0.52% on a day around $1,778, as
European traders brace for Thursday’s bel

14. XAU/USD Technical Analysis

15. Moving Averages

16. Trend Oscillators

17. Momentum Oscillators

18. Gold Price

19. Gold Chart

20. Gold Supported After Release Of
Less-hawkish Than Expected Fed
Minutes

21. Thanks for listening
Gold Supported After Release Of
Less-hawkish Than Expected Fed
Minutes