38XX–40XX: Potential bottom or next target?Over the past several weeks, gold has remained under relentless selling pressure, sliding from the 44xx region toward 41xx and continuing to probe lower liquidity zones. The question many traders are asking now is simple: where is the bottom?
From a macro perspective, the answer is not as straightforward as identifying a support level on a chart.
The market is currently transitioning from a panic-driven selloff into a potential bottom-building phase. While the 38xx–40xx region is increasingly emerging as a candidate for a medium-term bottom, it is still too early to confirm. Historically, major bottoms are rarely formed through a single sharp reversal. Instead, they are usually created through a prolonged accumulation process involving repeated tests of lower liquidity zones, false breakouts, failed recoveries, and multiple cycles of buyer-seller repositioning.
This means that even if gold experiences strong rebounds from current levels, those rallies should not automatically be interpreted as the start of a new bullish cycle. The market may continue revisiting lower support areas as it gradually builds a stronger foundation.
From the macro side, the environment remains challenging for gold.
Inflation pressures continue to support the U.S. Dollar, while recent Federal Reserve communication reinforces the possibility that interest rates could remain elevated for longer than markets initially expected. As long as real yields remain relatively attractive and monetary policy stays restrictive, capital has fewer reasons to aggressively rotate back into gold.
Geopolitical developments, economic uncertainty, or temporary risk-off events may still trigger powerful short-term rallies. However, these moves currently look more like corrective recoveries within a broader bearish structure rather than the beginning of a sustained long-term uptrend.
WEEKLY SCENARIO
Primary View
Gold remains in a broader bearish structure and continues searching for a durable bottom.
The current support zone around 40xx remains critical. A temporary recovery can develop from this region, but price may still revisit lower liquidity zones as part of a larger accumulation process.
The 38xx–40xx area is becoming increasingly important as a potential long-term demand zone, though confirmation is still lacking.
Macro Focus
Ongoing inflation resilience supporting the USD.
Federal Reserve maintaining a restrictive stance.
Interest rate expectations remain a key headwind for gold.
Geopolitical headlines can create volatility but have not yet changed the broader trend.
FINAL THOUGHT
The market is no longer simply trending lower—it is entering the stage where participants begin searching for value. However, finding value and confirming a bottom are two very different things.
Until macro conditions shift decisively in favor of precious metals, rallies should be viewed cautiously. Gold may be approaching an important long-term support region, but a true bottom will likely require time, repeated testing, and evidence of sustained demand before a meaningful recovery can begin.
Current Bias: Bearish to Neutral
Key Zone: 38xx–40xx
Long-Term Question: Is this accumulation before recovery, or simply another pause before the next leg lower? 📉
LucasGrayTrading
Golplan
FOMC WEEK (15-18/06): GOLD RECOVERY OR BEARISH CONTINUATION?After two consecutive weeks of heavy selling, gold plunged from the 44xx region down to 40xx, losing more than 4,000 pips in a relatively short period. The move was driven not only by economic data but also by a major shift in global capital flows and market expectations.
Although softer inflation readings were expected to support gold, investors largely stayed on the sidelines. Safe-haven demand failed to return in a meaningful way, while liquidity continued to leave the precious metals market. As a result, every recovery attempt was sold into, creating a persistent downtrend throughout the first half of June.
Toward the end of last week, however, gold finally found significant buying interest around the 402x support zone, a major daily support area that also aligns with an important Fibonacci extension level. From this region, price rebounded more than 200 points, suggesting that short-term selling pressure may be easing after an extended liquidation phase.
That said, this rebound should still be viewed as a corrective recovery within a broader bearish structure. The key question for next week is not how far gold can bounce, but whether capital will genuinely return to safe-haven assets.
MACRO OUTLOOK
The market narrative is shifting away from inflation and toward monetary policy and economic growth expectations.
The main event next week is the FOMC Meeting and Federal Reserve Interest Rate Decision on June 18. Markets overwhelmingly expect rates to remain unchanged, meaning investors will focus on the Fed's economic projections and guidance regarding potential rate cuts later in 2026.
Key events to monitor:
BOJ Policy Rate (June 16) – Potential impact on safe-haven flows across Asia.
US Retail Sales (June 17) – A key gauge of consumer strength and economic momentum.
FOMC Economic Projections & Fed Decision (June 18) – Likely to drive market expectations for the second half of the year.
Beyond economics, traders are closely watching geopolitical developments, particularly signs of easing tensions and possible progress toward a peace agreement between the United States and Iran.
If geopolitical risks continue to decline, demand for gold as a defensive asset could remain weak. This helps explain why recent rebounds have struggled to attract sustained institutional buying.
PRIMARY SCENARIO
Gold appears to be forming a temporary base around the 402x–410x region after an aggressive selloff.
In the short term, price may continue recovering toward overhead liquidity and resistance zones, particularly the 43xx–45xx Demand + Fibonacci areas highlighted on the chart.
However, as long as price remains below the major daily descending trendline and key liquidity zones overhead, the broader bearish structure remains intact. Current rallies should still be viewed as corrective moves within a larger downtrend.
If the Fed maintains a cautious stance and US economic data remains resilient, gold could face renewed selling pressure from those higher resistance areas before resuming its bearish trend.
ALTERNATIVE SCENARIO
If the Fed adopts a more dovish tone than expected, or if new geopolitical risks emerge that drive capital back into safe-haven assets, gold could extend its recovery from the current lows.
In that case, the market may attempt to reclaim the 43xx–45xx Demand + Fibonacci zones, with the potential to test the higher FVG liquidity area above.
Such a move would be the first indication that medium-term selling pressure is weakening and that the broader bearish structure may require reassessment.
SHORT-TERM BIAS
Bullish recovery from major support.
LONG-TERM BIAS
Still bearish while price remains below the major descending trendline and key liquidity zones overhead.
LucasGrayTrading 📉🔥
GOLD RISES FROM 430X, BUT FOMC MAY CAUSE SELLOFFGold continues to respect the recovery scenario outlined at the start of the week. After establishing a temporary bottom around the 40xx liquidity zone, price has maintained a strong technical rebound and is now trading firmly above the previously broken H4 descending trendline.
The key difference compared with last week's recovery attempts is that buyers are no longer reacting only from oversold conditions. Instead, the market is beginning to stabilize above the 430x region, suggesting that short-term liquidity accumulation is taking place ahead of the week's major macro events.
From a macro perspective, gold is benefiting from a combination of factors. Markets are entering a waiting phase before the upcoming FOMC decision, while expectations for a stable Fed stance have reduced aggressive USD buying. At the same time, geopolitical risks remain present but have not escalated enough to trigger a full safe-haven rush. The result is a market environment where traders are reducing directional exposure and allowing gold to recover part of the heavy losses suffered during the previous week.
However, the broader picture remains unchanged. Last week's decline from the 44xx region toward 40xx created significant liquidity imbalances. While gold is currently filling part of that imbalance, the market still faces several important overhead liquidity zones that could attract fresh selling pressure.
PRIMARY SCENARIO
As long as gold holds above the 430x Supply + Fibonacci support zone, the current recovery remains valid.
Price may continue extending higher toward the Demand + Fibonacci resistance around 436x–438x, where the descending trendline and key liquidity clusters converge. This remains the most important area to monitor before the FOMC meeting.
ALTERNATIVE SCENARIO
If buyers fail to maintain control above 430x and momentum weakens beneath the recovery structure, gold could return to retest lower support zones before attempting another directional move.
Until the market receives fresh guidance from the Federal Reserve, price action is likely to remain heavily driven by liquidity positioning rather than long-term conviction.
SHORT-TERM BIAS
Bullish recovery while price remains above the 430x support region.
LONG-TERM BIAS
Still bearish below the major Daily trendline and overhead Demand zones. Current upside remains a corrective recovery within a larger bearish structure.
LucasGrayTrading 📈🔥📉
FED Stays Firm, Peace Talks Surge: Gold Outlook?Gold remains trapped between two opposing macro narratives.
On one side, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and maintained a cautious tone regarding future policy easing. This effectively confirmed that the recent decline was not simply a short-term correction but part of a broader repricing process as markets adjust to a higher-for-longer rate environment.
On the other side, optimism surrounding peace negotiations and easing geopolitical tensions has sparked a strong technical rebound from last week's panic low. The recovery above the broken descending trendline attracted short-covering flows and helped gold reclaim part of the previous selloff.
However, from a market-structure perspective, the rebound has not changed the bigger picture yet.
Price is currently testing a key Demand + Fibonacci resistance zone around 432x–434x, while the broader daily structure remains bearish. More importantly, the rally appears driven primarily by sentiment and positioning rather than a meaningful shift in monetary policy expectations.
This is why the current recovery should still be viewed as a corrective move until buyers can reclaim higher liquidity zones.
PRIMARY SCENARIO
If the market continues to digest the Fed's message and upcoming economic data fails to support aggressive rate-cut expectations, gold may struggle to sustain gains above the current resistance cluster.
In this scenario, the 432x–434x Demand + Fibonacci zone could act as a distribution area, opening the door for another rotation lower toward the 423x–425x Supply zone, where liquidity remains unfinished.
As long as price remains below the major resistance structure, sellers retain the broader advantage.
ALTERNATIVE SCENARIO
If geopolitical developments continue to support safe-haven demand or markets begin pricing a more dovish Fed outlook, gold could extend its recovery.
A decisive break above 434x would expose the next liquidity pool around 437x–445x, where larger timeframe resistance and resting liquidity converge.
SHORT-TERM BIAS
Bullish corrective recovery above the broken trendline.
LONG-TERM BIAS
Still bearish while price remains below the 432x–445x resistance cluster and the market continues to operate within a broader post-FOMC bearish structure.
LucasGrayTrading 📊🔥
Gold poised for movement before FOMC.MARKET PAUSES BEFORE THE STORM: RETAIL SALES & FOMC AHEAD
Gold continues to hold above the broken descending trendline after last week's aggressive selloff, confirming that the market is still in a technical recovery phase. However, unlike the strong rebound seen earlier this week, price action has now shifted into a tight consolidation range beneath the 437x resistance cluster, signaling hesitation from both buyers and sellers ahead of today's major macro events.
From a broader perspective, this is no longer purely a technical market. The next directional move will likely be dictated by economic data rather than chart structure alone. Today's Retail Sales report will provide an updated view on U.S. consumer demand, while tomorrow's FOMC statement, economic projections, and Powell's press conference could redefine expectations for interest rates into the second half of the year.
The key observation is that despite last week's heavy liquidation, gold has not been able to reclaim major liquidity zones overhead. This suggests institutional money is still waiting for confirmation before committing to a larger bullish reversal. As a result, current rallies should still be treated cautiously until the market receives fresh macro guidance.
PRIMARY SCENARIO
If Retail Sales remains resilient and the Federal Reserve maintains a cautious stance on future rate cuts, the recent recovery could lose momentum. In that case, the 437x Demand + Trendline + Fibonacci resistance zone may continue acting as a ceiling.
Gold may then rotate lower toward the 430x support area, with the broader market remaining trapped inside a corrective structure ahead of FOMC.
ALTERNATIVE SCENARIO
If today's data disappoints and the market interprets tomorrow's FOMC communication as more dovish than expected, gold could finally break above the compression structure.
A successful breakout above 437x would expose the next liquidity zone around 446x–447x, where the larger bearish trendline and higher-timeframe Fibonacci resistance converge.
SHORT-TERM BIAS
Bullish recovery remains intact while price holds above 430x support.
LONG-TERM BIAS
Neutral-to-bearish until gold decisively reclaims the 437x–447x resistance cluster and receives confirmation from post-FOMC flows.
LucasGrayTrading




