Gold Price Analysis: XAU/USD struggling to find momentum above $1,870 after FOMC minutes non-starter

• Gold holding onto near-term highs, but bull runs into $1,900 are failing on Wednesday.
• XAU/USD set to be exposed to US inflation figures due Thursday with US CPI in the barrel.
• Despite a technical ceiling, spot Gold remains well-bid, up nearly 3.5% from last week's lows near $1,810.

Gold spot prices find themselves on the high side for Wednesday, up from the day's opening bids around $1,859 with the day's high etched in near $1,877. The Federal Reserve's (Fed) latest meeting minutes failed to spark a notable market reaction, with Fed officials spreading their bets on comments about inflation risks and policy measures.

FOMC minutes: Members agreed rates should stay restrictive for some time

XAU/USD is struggling to find momentum to make a meaningful run into $1,880, and intraday action could see itself constrained into the back end as markets head into Thursday's US Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading.

The US CPI printing on Thursday is expected to see a mild decline from 3.7% to 3.6% for the headline annualized period into September. An upside beat could see a resurgence of inflation concerns in the market, which would see the Greenback (USD) pushed firmly higher once again. For the meantime though, US Dollar flows remain limited, but Gold traders so far remain unable to claim further ground for the XAU/USD today.

XAU/USD Technical Outlook

Gold's minor gain on Wednesday has the pair pushing back to the 50% retracement region of the last top-to-bottom swing on the daily candles, and spot Gold bids are set for a challenge of the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) near the $1,900 handle.

Gold remains notably down from the year's average bids, after XAU/USD's last swing low saw Gold knocking into new lows for 2023. Price action has fallen well below the 200-day SMA currently near $,1925, and the challenge for Gold bulls will be to keep spot prices on-balance and grinding higher as long as US inflation concerns remain subdued.

XAU/USD Daily Chart

XAU/USD Technical Levels