Gold (XAU/USD) fell about half a percent to trade around $2,680 on Friday (08/11), extending a short-term bearish trend that has been in place since it ended on Halloween. The decline came amid market expectations that President-elect Donald Trump's economic policies will be positive for the US Dollar (USD), as higher tariffs and tax cuts could keep interest rates high, supporting foreign capital inflows into the US currency. This, in turn, is expected to pressure Gold lower as it is mostly priced and traded in USD.
Gold also won a bid as there was no mention at all of how the US presidential election results could impact the US economy in the Fed's accompanying statement. The wording was also largely unchanged from the previous meeting, except to state that "labor market conditions have generally eased" since the last meeting in September.
During his press conference, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell brushed off questions about Trump's policies, saying it was premature to pass judgment as he did not know "the timing, (or) the substance of any policy changes." Powell also said he did not think the rise in US Treasury yields was due to higher inflation expectations, possibly signaling a gloomier assessment that could benefit safe-haven gold.
Source: FXStreet