Gold is now trading near a six-year peak of $1,439 a week ago. A return to $1,400 is unlikely to be a problem, investors are most interested in whether quotes will manage to get to their favorite level of $1,500 and move on. This, in particular, will depend on what the Fed's main figures will say this week. It all starts with Jerome Powell's two-day speech.

Market participants have reduced their appetite for the pace of rate hikes in the United States after the release of strong data on employment, but still believe in a symbolic easing policy. In Powell's words, they will scrupulously look for hints of the prospects for lower rates this month.

The publication of the minutes of the June Fed meeting is significant for gold traders. This document will help them better understand why the officials then decided to postpone the rate cut.

In June, officials removed the word "patience" from their statement, and Powell recently used the phrase "prevention is better than treatment". This suggests that the US central bank is leaning toward preventive policy easing in order to avoid a possible slowdown in the economy.

Judging by the past meetings, the US regulator is known for its discretion. Therefore, it may not postpone the rate cut by 25 bp, which the market relies on so much to follow the situation in the country's economy. It is worth noting that there are traders expecting a decline of 50 bp, but such units.

This week, there will be a whole group of Fed officials and the most interesting one for investors will be the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, James Bullard. At the June meeting, he was the only one who did not agree with the decision to leave interest rates unchanged. Bullard compared with other members of the Fed committee holds the most dovish stance.

Analyst opinions on gold

Gold will reach $1,500 and move higher, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. However, strategists are worried about short-term risks. "The market overestimated the likelihood that the US central bank will lower rates," and if policy easing is postponed, for example, "due to the constructive results of the G20 summit," this will cause a drop in precious metal prices.

The same opinion is shared by UBS. However, they are waiting, gold will end the current year below $1,400, the next one will be close to $1,450, and only then will investors see the coveted mark of $ 1,500.

The National Australia Bank raised its forecast for the price of the yellow metal in 2019 to $1,400 per ounce. Earlier it was about $ 1,380 per ounce.

"We are still expecting two reductions in the US Federal Reserve rates - in July and September. This will support the precious metal," analysts wrote.

Gold is expected to become more attractive in the event of a further decrease in the yield of G7 countries. The demand for precious metals will grow from both long-term investors and short-term speculators. The world's central banks will also show an increased interest in gold.