By FXEmpire.com

Analysis and Recommendations:

Gold continues to flounder with no direction having small gains and losses in today’s session. The shiny metal is currently down at 1638.75.

Markets are waiting for the FOMC rate decision and statement later today.

The main event this week–the Federal Open Market Committee meeting/Ben Bernanke press conference–concludes later on Wednesday, which has overshadowed everything else.

The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to only tweak its economic forecasts at its two-day meeting this week, keeping all its options on the table given cross currents in recent economic data, analysts say.

Economic Data April 25, 2012 actual v. forecast

PLN

Polish Unemployment Rate

13.30%

13.40%

13.50%

GBP

GDP (QoQ)

-0.2%

0.1%

-0.3%

GBP

GDP (YoY)

0.0%

0.3%

0.5%

GBP

CBI Industrial Trends Orders

-8

-6

-8

USD

Core Durable Goods Orders (MoM)

-1.1%

0.5%

1.9%

USD

Durable Goods Orders (MoM)

-4.2%

-1.7%

1.9%

USD

Interest Rate Decision

0.25%

0.25%

0.25%

Economic Events scheduled for April 26, 2012 that affect the European and American Markets

TBD EUR Consumer Price Index (YoY) (Apr)
The Germany consumer price index released by the Statistiches Bundesamt Deutschland measures the average price change for all goods and services purchased by households for consumption purposes. CPI is the main indicator to measure inflation and changes in purchasing trends.

TBD EUR Consumer Price Index (MoM) (Apr)

The Germany consumer price index released by the Statistiches Bundesamt Deutschland measures the average price change for all goods and services purchased by households for consumption purposes. CPI is the main indicator to measure inflation and changes in purchasing trends

06:00 EUR Retail Sales (MoM) (Mar)

The Retail Sales released by the Statistiches Bundesamt Deutschland is a measure of changes in sales of the German retail sector. It shows the performance of the retail sector in the short term. Percent changes reflect the rate of changes of such sales. The changes are widely followed as an indicator of consumer spending

06:00 EUR Retail Sales (YoY) (Mar)

The Retail Sales released by the Statistiches Bundesamt Deutschland is a measure of changes in sales of the German retail sector. It shows the performance of the retail sector in the short term. Percent changes reflect the rate of changes of such sales. The changes are widely followed as an indicator of consumer spending.

08:30 GBP BBA Mortgage Approvals (Mar)

The Mortgage Approvals published by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA)measure the number of home loans issued by the BBA during the previous quarter. It is considered as a leading indicator of the UK Housing Market. A Mortgage growth represents a healthy housing market that stimulates the overall UK economy

09:00 EUR Consumer Confidence (Apr)

The Consumer Confidence released by the European Commission is a leading index that measures the level of consumer confidence in economic activity. A high level of consumer confidence stimulates economic expansion while a low level drives to economic downturn.

09:00 EUR Economic Confidence (Apr)

The Euro Zone Economic Confidence released by the European Commission is a survey of consumers confidence in economic activity. It indicates the trend of the overall Euro Zone economy.

09:00 EUR Industrial Confidence (Apr)

The Industrial Confidence released by the European Commission is an index that measures the level of industrial executives confidence in economic activity. The survey asks about orders and buildup of inventories. A high level of industrial confidence stimulates economic expansion while a low level drives to economic downturn.

23:01 GBP Gfk Consumer Confidence (Apr)

The GfK Group Consumer Confidence is a leading index that measures the level of consumer confidence in economic activity. A high level of consumer confidence stimulates economic expansion while a low level drives to economic downturn

Just a heads up since gold is volatile and will react to most economic indicators we will begin to post the daily calendar with events that could affect the price of gold. The gold price is sensitive to a number of scheduled U.S. and Euro area macroeconomic announcements–including retail sales, non-farm payrolls, and inflation. Gold’s high sensitivity to real interest rates and its unique role as a safe-haven and store of value typically leads to a counter-cyclical reaction to surprise news, in contrast to their commodities. It also shows a particularly high sensitivity to negative surprises that might lead financial investors to become more risk averse.

These results have a number of implications. To reduce the uncertainty of the return on gold transactions, traders may wish to time their orders flow so as to avoid the release of information that has been shown to affect prices. For longer-term market participants, these results provide confirmation of the pro-cyclical bias of many commodities and gold’s role as a safe-haven during periods of economic uncertainty.

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Originally posted here