Gold prices experienced little change in the morning trading session in the domestic futures market on Wednesday, March 20, as investors awaited the outcome of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision, followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference, which could provide insights into the prospects of interest rate cuts this year.
The US central bank is widely expected to maintain interest rates unchanged today amidst sticky inflation. However, market participants are eagerly anticipating the Fed’s economic and interest rate projections for the remainder of the year.
Global cues remained weak, and the rise of the US dollar also exerted pressure on gold prices. The US dollar maintained stability after a recent surge to a level not seen in over two weeks, partly due to weakness in the Japanese yen following the Bank of Japan’s decision to hike interest rates, boosting the dollar index.
A stronger dollar typically weighs negatively on gold prices as it makes gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.
In the morning trade, MCX Gold for April delivery was trading marginally up by 0.04% at ₹65,606 per 10 grams around 10:45 am.
Strategy for Gold Today
Gold prices are expected to remain volatile in today’s session ahead of the US Fed policy outcome, according to Rahul Kalantri, VP of commodities at Mehta Equities. He suggests that gold may find support at $2,144-2,131 and resistance at $2,172-2,185, while silver’s support lies at $24.78-24.60 with resistance at $25.11-25.28. In terms of Indian rupee, gold is expected to find support at ₹65,380-65,140, with resistance at ₹65,780-65,920, while silver may find support at ₹74,640-74,080 and resistance at ₹75,740-76,180.
Manoj Kumar Jain of Prithvifinmart Commodity Research also anticipates gold and silver prices to remain volatile this week due to fluctuations in the dollar index and outcomes of the Fed meeting. He suggests that gold has support at $2,148-2,134 and resistance at $2,172-2,184 per troy ounce, while silver has support at $24.94-24.70 and resistance at $25.40-25.66 per troy ounce in today’s session. On the MCX, gold has support at ₹65,400-65,220 and resistance at ₹65,740-65,950, while silver has support at ₹74,850-74,400 and resistance at ₹75,650-76,100. Jain advises investors to refrain from taking any positions in the markets in today’s session ahead of the Fed monetary policy outcomes.
