Gold holding on to $1,300/oz, tests 200-day sma

• The precious metal is up smalls above the $1,300/oz milestone.
• Stronger buck keeps the metal under pressure so far.
• FOMC said US inflation is expected to stay near ‘symmetric’ goal.

The ounce troy of the precious metal is posting some gains just above the $1,300 mark following the FOMC meeting.

Gold bid after mixed FOMC, tests 200-day sma

Bullion is looking to revert two consecutive sessions in the red territory today despite the rally in the greenback stays unabated, with the US Dollar Index retaking the upper end of the range near 92.70.

The yellow metal remains under pressure after the Federal Reserve left unchanged the overnight rates, as widely expected, while Fed Funds futures keep pointing to two more rate hikes this year.

The FOMC sounded hawkish on the inflation prospect after it hinted at the probability of some temporary overshooting of the Fed’s 2% target. The Committee also added that the economy warrants further gradual rate hikes.

In the meantime, Gold is navigating the lower bound of the range prevailing since the start of the year, poking the 200-day sma and threatening to break below the critical support at $1,300 the figure, always against the backdrop of a robust demand for USD.

Gold key levels

As of writing Gold is up 0.02% at $1,304.28 and a breakdown of $1,302.88 (2018 low Mar.1) would aim for $1,260.70 (low Oct.6 2017) and then $1,236.59 (monthly low Dec.12 2017). On the upside, the next hurdle lines up at $1,322.68 (10-day sma) seconded by $1,332.61 (21-day sma) and finally $1,356.86 (high Mar.27).