Gold remains depressed below $1500 mark

• Resurgent USD demand exerted some intraday pressure on Monday.
• The downside remains limited ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC decision.

Gold edged lower through the early European session on Tuesday and retreated farther below the key $1500 psychological mark.
 
The precious metal failed to capitalize on Monday's bullish gap, supported by the global flight to safety following the weekend drone attacks on two major Saudi Arabian oil installations, finally settled near the lower end of its daily trading range.
 
The US Dollar reversed an early dip and managed to regain strong intraday positive traction, which eventually turned out to be one of the key factors that exerted some downward pressure on the dollar-denominated commodity - Gold.

Awaits FOMC decision for a fresh impetus

With the greenback consolidating the overnight gains, growing concerns about a global economic slowdown extended some support to the commodity's perceived safe-haven status and helped limit the downside, at least for the time being.
 
This coupled with firming expectations that the Fed will cut rates by another 25 bps further underpinned demand for the non-yielding yellow metal, though reduced bets for more aggressive policy easing might cap any strong move up.
 
Hence, traders are likely to wait for a fresh catalyst from the highly anticipated FOMC decision, scheduled to be announced on Wednesday, before determining and positioning for the commodity's next leg of a directional move.
 
In the meantime, Gold seems more likely to remain confined in its recent trading range and continue with its consolidative price action on Tuesday amid absent relevant market moving economic releases from the US.

Technical levels to watch