Gold fell by over 1% after the Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged and Jerome Powell said he would stay on the Board until a criminal investigation is dropped. XAU\/USD traded at $4,546 after a daily high of $4,610.<\/p>\n
The FOMC held rates at 3.50%\u20133.75% with an 8\u20134 split, the most divided vote since 1992. Stephen Miran backed a cut, while Beth Hammak, Neel Kashkari and Lorie Logan opposed adding an easing bias.<\/p>\n
The US Dollar Index rose 0.37% to 98.96 and the 10-year Treasury yield was up 8 basis points at 4.43%. Money markets priced a 29% chance of a rate rise at the April 2027 meeting, based on Prime Terminal data.<\/p>\n
US Core Durable Goods Orders rose 3.3% after 1.6% in February, above the 0.6% forecast. Total orders moved from a 1.2% annual fall to a 0.8% rise, beating the 0.5% forecast.<\/p>\n
Gold was near four-week lows around $4,510; below $4,500, supports are $4,482, $4,351 and the 200-day SMA at $4,269. Resistances are $4,600, the 100-day SMA at $4,753 and the 50-day SMA at $4,848.<\/p>\n
The divided Federal Reserve vote signals significant uncertainty for the weeks ahead, creating an ideal environment for volatility plays. The sharp rise in Treasury yields to 4.43% and the stronger dollar are the most important immediate reactions we are seeing. Traders should anticipate wider price swings as the market digests this new, less predictable policy landscape.<\/p>\n
With gold breaking below key support levels, bearish positions appear favorable in the short term. Buying put options on gold futures or related ETFs offers a defined-risk way to target the $4,482 and $4,351 support zones. We should remain cautious, as any escalation in the political drama surrounding Powell could trigger a flight-to-safety rally.<\/p>\n
The Fed’s reluctance to signal a clear path toward easing is supported by incoming data. This morning’s Core PCE price index reading for March came in at 3.1%, stubbornly above target and reversing the progress we saw late in 2025. This, combined with last week’s jobless claims falling to a six-month low of 195,000, removes any urgency for the Fed to cut rates.<\/p>\n
We should expect the US Dollar to remain strong against other major currencies, making call options on the DXY attractive. Similarly, the upward pressure on interest rates suggests a strategy of buying puts on long-duration Treasury bond ETFs. The market is now pricing a non-zero chance of a hike by next year, a dramatic shift from just a few months ago.<\/p>\n
Given the deep policy split, buying call options on the VIX index provides a direct hedge against rising market turbulence. This level of internal disagreement at the Fed hasn’t been seen since the early 1990s, a period that was also marked by significant policy uncertainty. Any unexpected headlines from Washington or surprising economic data could now have an outsized impact on asset prices.<\/p>\n
Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gold slid over 1% after Fed held rates; Powell stays amid probe; dollar yields rose. Gold near lows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":16982,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\t