Gold still struggling to make any significant progress on Wednesday.

Gold price (XAUUSD) is positive for the second day in a row, but it lacks bullish conviction and still trapped in a range that been known for the past week or so.

The precious metal capped by bets on a less dovish Fed and an increase in US bond yields.

These days, traders appear hesitant and prefer to hold off on placing directional bets until they have more information regarding the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) rate-cut trajectory. As a result, the market will continue to focus on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later today should help policymakers make their next monetary policy decision, as should the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report on Friday. This will therefore be crucial in establishing the non-yielding yellow metal’s short-term course.

Meanwhile, a slight increase in US Treasury bond yields still supported by expectations that the Fed will take a cautious approach to rate cuts due to worries that US President-elect Donald Trump’s policies will increase inflation. As a result, the US dollar (USD) receives some support and may continue to be a drag on the price of gold.

Geopolitical risks and concerns about a trade war provide some support.

Nonetheless, the downside for the safe-haven XAUUSD still limited due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, Trump’s impending trade tariff, and concerns about the second wave of international trade disputes. For some motivation, traders now turn to the US ISM Services PMI and the US ADP report on private-sector employment.

Daily Market Movers: Demand for safe haven assets supports the price of gold, but it is not confidently bullish ahead of Fed’s Powell.

In order to get clues about the interest rate outlook, traders now appear hesitant to make aggressive directional bets around the price of gold and instead wait for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech.

Job openings rose steadily from 7.37 million to 7.74 million in October, according to a survey (JOLTS) released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Tuesday.

In addition to stalling efforts to reduce inflation to the 2% target, the robust US labor market report indicates that the US central bank could Next year, it will halt its rate-cutting cycle.

Although it doesn’t do much to impress US dollar bulls or offer any significant stimulus, the outlook for a less dovish Fed is still supportive of a slight increase in US Treasury bond yields.

The markets are still pricing in a more than 70% chance that the Fed will lower rates by 25 basis points at its next meeting in December, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

The US economy is doing well, the balanced labor market is not causing inflation, and a rate cut in December is still possible, according to San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly.

Adrianna Kugler, the governor of the Federal Reserve, stated that the central bank is still working to reduce inflation.

Adrianna Kugler, the governor of the Federal Reserve, stated that the central bank still working to reduce inflation  will make choices at each meeting and ensure that the policy not set in stone.

According to Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, rates still restrictive and must be reduced significantly over the course of the next year if inflation approaches the target.

In addition to threatening to impose a 100% tariff on the “BRICS” countries, US President-elect Donald Trump promised to impose significant tariffs on the country’s three largest trading partners: China, Canada, and Mexico.

In response to the Iran-backed organization Hezbollah firing two rockets at Israeli-occupied territory, Israel launched its largest round of airstrikes since the ceasefire with Lebanon.

Unexpectedly, China’s Caixin Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped from 52.0 in November to 51.5, which fueled concerns about a shaky recovery in the second-biggest economy in the world.