Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD turns sideways below $1,810 as spotlight shifts to Fed minutes

• Gold price is hovering below $1,810.00 amid volatility contraction.
• The FOMC minutes will provide a detailed view of the US economy and ideology by raising rates by 75 bps.
• The DXY is also displaying volatility contraction but is holding above $105.00 firmly.

Gold price (XAU/USD) is displaying a rangebound move below the critical resistance of $1,810.00 in the early Asian session. The precious metal has turned sideways, following the footprints of the US dollar index (DXY). The upcoming event of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes on Wednesday has shifted the gold prices into the consolidation trajectory.

The FOMC minutes will provide a detailed view behind the bumper rate hike announcement by the Federal Reserve (Fed). Fed chair Jerome Powell announced a 75 basis point (bps) interest rate hike in June monetary policy to fix the inflation mess. And, thanks to the solid growth prospects and tight labor market, which provide the Fed the required support to announce a rate hike without much hesitation.  

Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY) is oscillating in a narrow range of 105.15-105.23 in the Asian session. Investors are awaiting the release of the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP), which are due on Friday. A preliminary estimate for job additions in June is 250k, extremely lower than the former additions of 390k in May.

Gold technical analysis

On an hourly scale, the gold prices are juggling in a narrow range of $1,804.00-1,814.37. The downward sloping trendline placed from June 12 high at $1,879.26 will act as a major barrier for the precious metal. The 50-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $1,807.92 is overlapping with the gold prices, which signals an ongoing consolidation phase. Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) (14) is oscillating in a 40.00-60.00 range, which indicates a directionless move further.

Gold hourly chart