Gold price (XAU/USD) aims for a strong weekly gain as investors choose the early rate-cut narrative in the US, shrugging off recent doubts over its timing. In the monetary policy statement, the Federal Reserve (Fed)  didn’t explicitly refer to upcoming rate cuts amid the absence of enough evidence that underlying inflation will sustainably return to the 2% target. However, policymakers already signaled in the bank’s latest Summary of Economic Projections (SEP)  that interest rates will be reduced by 75 basis points (bps) in 2024. 

Gold price could experience volatility ahead as the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will report the Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for January, which will be published at 13:30 GMT. Investors anticipate that labor demand moderated and wage growth slowed as the Fed has maintained interest rates at restricted levels for long