XAUUSD: FOMC Broke the Pattern. Now Gold Must Prove It
Gold did not simply fall after FOMC.
It broke something first.
For several sessions, XAUUSD had been climbing inside a short-term rising structure. Buyers gradually pushed price from the 4,250 area toward 4,360.
Then FOMC arrived.
One violent move erased that entire climb, broke the rising structure and drove Gold toward 4,235.
But here is the part I care about:
Gold did not stay there.
Price immediately recovered from the low, returned above 4,260 and is now trading around 4,290.
So instead of asking “Was FOMC bullish or bearish?”, I am asking a much more useful question:
Was 4,235 the beginning of another sell-off — or the liquidity event buyers needed?
⚡ THE FOMC CANDLE CREATED TWO EXTREMES
Look at the chart and ignore everything in the middle for a moment.
The FOMC move gave us two important points:
4,235 below.
4,320 above.
I see the current price trapped between those two extremes.
And until Gold escapes one side, I do not need to predict anything.
I need to react.
The interesting detail is what sits between current price and the FOMC low.
There is an H1 order block around 4,258–4,275.
That zone has already produced a reaction.
For buyers, this is their shelter.
For sellers, it is the floor they need to destroy.
🟢 I WILL BUY WEAKNESS — BUT ONLY WHILE THIS FLOOR SURVIVES
I am not interested in buying randomly around 4,290.
I would rather see Gold return toward 4,260–4,275.
Why?
Because that gives buyers a simple job:
Defend the order block.
If price trades into this area, rejects it and an H1 candle closes back above 4,275, I would consider the dip successfully defended.
BUY Entry: 4,268–4,278 after H1 rejection/reclaim
Stop Loss: 4,248
TP1: 4,305
TP2: 4,320
TP3: 4,345–4,355
I would not expect a straight-line rally.
4,320 is the first checkpoint.
That is where the post-FOMC recovery has to show that it is more than a temporary bounce.
🧩 4,320 CHANGES THE TYPE OF TRADE
This is where my plan becomes more aggressive.
If Gold reaches 4,320 and gets rejected, I simply keep treating the market as a recovery inside damaged structure.
But if an H1 candle closes above 4,320, something changes.
Buyers would have recovered the upper section of the FOMC breakdown.
I would then wait for a pullback rather than chase the breakout.
Breakout BUY: 4,312–4,322 after successful retest
Stop Loss: 4,292
TP1: 4,350
TP2: 4,365
TP3: 4,395–4,405
The final target matters because 4,402 sits around the larger resistance visible on the chart.
That is where I would expect the next major argument between buyers and sellers.
So my bullish roadmap is simple:
Protect 4,260 → recover 4,320 → attack 4,350 → challenge 4,402.
Each step has to be earned.
🔴 THE SHORT I WANT REQUIRES SOMETHING TO BREAK FIRST
Selling while the order block is still holding does not interest me.
I want sellers to prove that the reaction from 4,235 has failed.
The proof would be an H1 close below 4,258.
Not a wick.
Not a five-minute spike.
A proper H1 close below the order block.
Then I want price to return toward 4,258–4,270 and fail to recover it.
That would turn today's support into resistance.
SELL Entry: 4,258–4,268 after bearish retest
Stop Loss: 4,282
TP1: 4,240
TP2: 4,235
TP3: 4,215–4,220
This setup tells me something very different from a normal pullback:
The FOMC low is no longer being defended.
And once 4,235 breaks on an H1 closing basis, I would stop looking for an immediate bullish recovery.
🎯 THERE IS ALSO A SELL ABOVE CURRENT PRICE
There is one scenario where I do not need the order block to fail.
Gold could rally first.
If buyers push into 4,345–4,360 but cannot hold the move, I will watch closely for an H1 rejection.
A strong upper wick followed by a close back below 4,345 would tell me that yesterday's broken rising structure is still attracting sellers.
Rejection SELL: 4,345–4,355
Stop Loss: 4,370
TP1: 4,320
TP2: 4,290
TP3: 4,265
But there is a strict rule here:
No SELL if Gold closes above 4,365 and holds it on the retest.
At that point, I would rather follow the recovery toward 4,395–4,405.
🧠 IF YOU ARE NEW, READ ONLY THIS PART
You do not need to predict the next 100 dollars.
Let Gold answer four smaller questions:
Does 4,260–4,275 hold?
Then buyers still have a base.
Does 4,320 break and hold?
Then the recovery becomes stronger.
Does 4,345–4,360 reject price?
Then sellers may regain control.
Does 4,258 break and fail on the retest?
Then I switch bearish toward 4,235 and potentially lower.
That is my entire map.
No guessing required.
FOMC damaged the short-term bullish structure.
But it also created a violent rejection from 4,235.
That leaves Gold in an unusual position today:
The old bullish structure is broken, but the bears have not finished the job.
Now 4,260–4,275 becomes the evidence.
If buyers keep it, yesterday's collapse may eventually become the foundation for a larger recovery.
If sellers take it away, 4,235 comes back into play very quickly.
Your call: was the FOMC drop a real breakdown — or just a massive liquidity sweep before Gold goes after 4,400 again?
TITradingView Ideas17 Sept