Last week, gold continued to trade within its established range.
The latest weekly gold survey showed that market analysts were divided into bullish and neutral camps, while retail investors were waiting for prices to break out of the recent range, either upwards or downwards.
James Stanley, senior market strategist at Forex.com, sees the potential for gold to rise this week.
Colin Cieszynski, Chief Market Strategist at SIA Wealth Management, maintains a neutral stance. According to him, since gold has been trading sideways since the beginning of September, and most of the major market news for this month has already been released, the precious metal may continue its consolidation until the end of the quarter.
On Friday last week, 13 Wall Street analysts participated in a gold survey. Six of them, or 46%, expected price increases for the current week. Five analysts, or 38%, had a neutral outlook, and only two analysts, or 15%, predicted price declines.
In online polls, there were 591 votes cast. Of these, 292 respondents, or 49%, expected price increases for the current week. 208, or 35%, anticipated price decreases, while 91 voters, or 15%, were neutral.
According to the latest investor survey, gold prices are expected to trade around $1,936 per ounce, which is $12 higher than last week's forecast.
Bob Haberkorn, Senior Commodities Broker at RJO Futures, believes that gold prices will remain in the current range as people digest the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
Marc Chandler, Managing Director at Bannockburn Global Forex, shares a similar opinion.
Meanwhile, the President of Adrian Day Asset Management, Adrian Day, predicts an increase in prices in the near future because inflation is not over, and the economy is heading towards a recession, which he believes creates favorable conditions for gold.
This week will see the release of numerous economic data, although they may not be as influential as the Federal Open Market Committee's rate decision last week. Key economic data includes U.S. GDP and PCE for the second quarter and August, surveys from the Federal Reserve Banks of Dallas, Chicago, Michigan, and Richmond, as well as August sales of durable goods and pending home sales.