Gold holds lower ground near the yearly bottom as the market braces for the Fed’s rate hike. In doing so, the yellow metal remains inside a six-week-old trend-widening pattern. That said, the quote is likely to stay bearish unless crossing the $1,715 hurdle. Ahead of that, the two-month-long horizontal resistance area surrounding $1,696 and the $1,700 threshold could test the recovery moves. In a case where the metal prices rally beyond the $1,715 mark, the monthly high surrounding $1,735 could act as the last defense for the sellers.
On the contrary, the lower line of the stated trend-widening formation called megaphone, around $1,642 by the press time, restricts the short-term downside of gold prices. Also acting as immediate support is the 78.6% Fibonacci Expansion (FE) of April-August moves, near $1,619. It’s worth noting, however, that the metal’s weakness past $1,619 will make it vulnerable to testing April 2020 low near $1,572.
Overall, gold is likely to remain bearish even if the Fed’s disappointment may trigger intermediate bounce.