Gold Price Forecast: XAU/USD spikes to fresh bull cycle highs on Fed dovish hike

• Gold Price rallies and drops back on the Federal Reserve rate hike and statement.
• Markets now await Fed´s Jerome Powell for clarity and direction. 

The Gold price jumped to a high of $2,036.15 and counting on the back of the initial reaction to the Federal Reserve rate hike of 25 basis points and accompanying announcements within its statement. 

The US Dollar has dumped and is down some 0.8% at the time of writing as the central bank removes the prior language that signaled more hikes were coming. Instead, the statements say the extent to which more firming is needed hinges on the economy. Consequently, Fed futures are pricing in a pause in June and July and rate cuts in September.

Feds statement, key takeaways 

• Fed drops language that it anticipates more policy firming may be appropriate to attain a sufficiently restrictive stance.
• Will continue reducing the balance sheet as planned.
• Job gains have been robust and inflation remains elevated.
• Tighter credit conditions are likely to weigh on the economy, hiring, and inflation.
• Fed says the vote in favor of the policy was unanimous.
• Fed repeats us banking system is sound and resilient.
• In determining the extent to which additional policy firming may be appropriate, it will take into account tightening.

All in all, the Fed has opened the door to a rate-hike pause, and Gold price is reacting in kind. 

Markets will now await the Chairman, Jerome Powell who will be speaking in the press conference. 

Watch live: Fed chair Jerome Powell

Gold technical analysis

The bulls are in the market but the volatility is rife and there are prospects of a move lower into the in-the-money longs from the start of the US session if the bears can get below $2,021 on hawkish rhetoric from Jerome Powell: