Waiting for the Fed's new move, gold price today March 18 goes down

World gold prices fell slightly as they waited for a clearer view from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) on interest rate cuts at its meeting this week. In theory, no interest rate cut would help the USD appreciate, negatively affecting gold prices.

The market is expecting new revelations about the Fed's next move, specifically the expected time to start cutting the operating interest rate and the expected level of cuts this year.

Kitco’s Neils Christensen said that this week will be a relatively difficult one for the gold market as the Fed discusses its policy direction and issues updated economic forecasts. Any hawkish talk about pushing back the timing of a rate cut could create some selling pressure on gold.

Gold price movements today

+ Domestic gold price

At 6:00 a.m. on March 18, the gold price at Doji was listed at 79.4 - 81.4 million VND/tael (buy - sell), unchanged from early this morning.

Meanwhile, gold price at SJC is listed at 79.2 - 81.7 million VND/tael (buy - sell).

+ International gold price

The world gold price listed on Kitco is at 2,154 USD/ounce, down 6 USD/ounce compared to early this morning. Gold futures last traded at 2,160 USD/ounce.

Gold Price Forecast

According to the results of the weekly Kitco News gold survey, experts are no longer optimistic about the short-term outlook for gold prices. Meanwhile, retail traders still forecast gold prices to continue rising this week.

Last week, 11 analysts participated in the Kitco News gold survey. Nearly 75% of Wall Street respondents said gold prices would fall or trend sideways. Only three experts, or 27%, expected higher prices next week.

Meanwhile, according to an online survey of Main Street retail traders, investors are optimistic about the outlook for gold prices. Fifty-six percent expect gold to rise, 29 percent expect prices to fall, and 15 percent are neutral.

The market is now waiting for the Fed's monetary policy meeting, which will take place in the middle of this week. Experts predict that the Fed will continue to leave open the possibility of cutting interest rates this year and re-emphasize the view that it will decide to loosen policy if it is certain that inflation is falling back to the 2% target.

While interest rate expectations are weighing on gold, experts say geopolitical concerns, a weakening global economy and central bank demand are providing solid support for the precious metal. Analysts note that demand for gold bars in Asia has not slowed down even as prices have pushed to record highs.

In the current climate, most experts advise against chasing the market and buying only when prices dip.