Gold Traders Eye FOMC Meeting for(ward) Guidance

Meanwhile, vaccine rollout in the U.S. and elsewhere continues to support the general market excitement that has been observed over the last several weeks (a major reason for gold's depreciation so far into 2021). However, it remains to be seen whether this process would continue exerting the same type of influence in the near future.

Overall, the underlying fundamentals continue to seem slightly tilted in favour of the bears; however, this could promptly change in few hours when the FOMC is set to deliver its latest views on the current state of the U.S. economy.

1. Long-Term Outlook:

As can be seen on the daily chart below, the underlying technical outlook continues to be mostly bearish as well. After completing the 1-5 Elliott impulse wave pattern, which was highlighted in our previous analysis, the price action tumbled to the 38.2 per cent Fibonacci retracement level at 1836.28.

This corrective behaviour seems to be inlined with the establishment of an ABC pattern, as postulated by the Elliott Wave Theory. In other words, if the price action manages to break down below the Fibonacci support decisively, its next target-level would be the closest support level. In this case, this would be the 1780.00 support, which was established from the last swing low (at the dip of the 1-5 impulse wave pattern). Nevertheless, there is also a conceivable possibility for a bullish rebound from the current market price.

The price action is trading below the 50-day MA (in green), which is positioned below the 100-day MA (in blue). This is generally evocative of strong bearish pressure at present. Nevertheless, the price action is also consolidating in a tight range between the 50-day MA, which currently serves the role of a floating resistance, and the 38.2 per cent Fibonacci. As mentioned earlier, this subdued behaviour is taking place just a few hours ahead of the FED meeting, which signifies a bottleneck effect - the monetary policy statement is likely to catalyse a big price swing in either direction depending on FED's ultimate decisions.

Notice also that the underlying bearish momentum is currently rising, as demonstrated by the MACD indicator. Moreover, the development of a Hanging Man candle near the peak of the recent bullish pullback is also illustrative of this mounting bearish bias. Nevertheless, a sudden jump in buying pressure could drive the price action as high as the 100-day MA before the bears could attempt to regain control.

2. Short-Term Outlook:

The above-mentioned bottleneck can be seen more clearly on the 4H chart below. Following the termination of the 1-5 impulse wave pattern (part of the subsequent ABC correction's development), the initial dropdown is represented as a major triangle structure. As the price action nears the lower-right angle of the triangle, it would have no other choice but to break out away from the triangle in either direction. This would, in turn, shed light on the next most likely path for the price action.

While this time, the MACD indicator is more neutral - once again due to the bottleneck effect - the price action's latest behaviour is more noticeably bearish. The simultaneous emergence of a false breakdown below the 38.2 per cent Fibonacci and a Hammer candle are both demonstrative of high uncertainty around this psychological support. In other words, the likelihood of bullish rebound developing next seems more plausible on the 4H than on the daily chart.

On the hourly chart below can be seen that the price action has also established a Wedge as a part of the above-mentioned bottleneck effect. This pattern typically indicates rising bullish bias, which affirms the expectations for the emergence of a bullish rebound next. This is further substantiated by the fact that following the false breakdown at point A, the price action has had an additional four failed tests of the 1836.28 support.

Seeing as how the price action established a bullish engulfing over the last hour, there appears to be an even stronger case to be made here for a likely bullish breakout above the triangle and the Wedge's upper border. The most significant test for such a breakout will be the minor resistance level at 1856.00, which has already held back the price action on five separate occasions (as indicated by the red arrows). The prominence of the resistance is further bolstered by the fact that the two moving averages are currently crossing below it.

Notice also that the MACD indicator appears to be in the process of recording a bullish crossover, which would very probably mean rising buying pressure in the short-term.

3. Concluding Remarks:

As was argued above, the continuation of the currently developing downtrend further down south depends on a decisive breakdown below 1836.28. That is why bears are advised against opening any short orders before such a breakdown occurs, especially ahead of the uncertain FED meeting. Instead, they should better wait for the expected upsurge in volatility from the event to subside before they even consider going short.

In contrast, bulls would also be taking a huge risk if they go long near the Fibonacci support ahead of the FOMC decision. They need a solid confirmation such as a breakout above the Wedge pattern. Additionally, it should be remembered that the final test of a bullish rebound would be at the 1856.00 minor resistance. A breakout above it would represent the confirmation needed by the bulls, whereas another bearish pullback from it would signal the bears that the broader downtrend may yet be resumed.

Gold Completes a Flag Pattern. New Downtrend Emerges

Gold's recent price consolidation seems to be finally concluded. The underlying price action is thus finally ready to resume falling, as per the expectations of the initial analysis.

The projected decrease in aggregate demand for the safe-haven asset, which is the primary reason for the price depreciation, is owing to several key factors. First of all, the adverse levels of uncertainty following the recent GameStop controversy are finally decreasing, which allows investors to once again focus on riskier securities. Consequently, WallStreet's attention is once again placed on the solid quarterly data that is being reported during the current earnings season.

Second of all, the market has already discounted the weaker-than-expected U.S. GDP data for Q4, which was the main cause for the development of the above-mentioned price consolidation. Moreover, FED's accommodative monetary policy driving U.S. yields to an all-time low right now is no longer causing investors' interest to be solely centred on low-risk securities.

The final blow for gold is expected to be delivered tomorrow when the U.S. labour market is projected to add 62 thousand new jobs. Hence, the price of the commodity is finally ready to resume falling, in line with the primary projections of our analysis.

As shown on the 4H chart above, gold's price action finally managed to break down below the crucially important 38.2 per cent Fibonacci retracement level at 1836.28. The next two targets for the reinvigorated downtrend are the major support at 1800.00, which bears psychological significance, and subsequently, the major support at 1780.00.

The breakdown below the Flag pattern's lower boundary represents the most substantial indication that the price is ready to resume depreciating once again. The bearish crossover of the two moving averages - the 50-day MA (in green) crossing below the 100-day MA (in blue) - represents a secondary confirmation of the rising bearish pressure at present. Accordingly, the MACD indicator registered an upsurge in bearish momentum.

Bears should keep in mind that the price action already rebounded from the 1800.00 support once, which is why another abrupt pullback is plausible. The price action could retrace back to the descending trend line before the bearish sentiment is reinstated. Even if this were to happen, market bears would have an opportunity to add to their short orders by selling at the resulting peak.