Strong Post-FOMC Rally

Gold is 0.1% higher in the Asia-Pac session, after closing 2.4% higher at $2027.74 on Wednesday.

• Yesterday’s move came after the Federal Reserve gave the clearest signal yet that it had finished its aggressive monetary-tightening campaign, by forecasting a series of rate cuts next year. The Dot Plot pointed to a 2024 median of 75bp of rate cuts, a sharper pace than indicated in September’s projections, with reductions expected by 17 of 19 members.
• While the Fed held the funds rate steady, as expected, Fed Chair Powell delivered little to no pushback to market expectations of significant rate cuts next year.
• His commentary and tone seemed at odds with his final speech before the FOMC blackout: "It would be premature to conclude with confidence that we have achieved a sufficiently restrictive stance, or to speculate on when policy might ease."
• Bullion’s rally on Wednesday unwound the slide seen since US payrolls on Friday. It also punched through resistance at $2003.9 (20-day EMA) to open $2041.3 (Dec 5 high), according to MNI’s technicals team.