XAU/USD AI Live Scan, 1-hour chart, Friday, 18 September 2026
Every read JAFX AI made on the XAU/USD 1-hour chart that day, newest first: trend, structure, the levels it marked and what it said to watch.
20:04 UTC
Uptrend, momentum capped at range top · RSI 54 · price 4,377.85
Higher highs and higher lows since Thursday's 4235 low, supply at 4400.
Gold has recovered the entire post-FOMC slide, rallying from Wednesday's 4235 low through Thursday and Friday sessions as the oil and yield pullback trimmed the dollar bid. Price is holding above the H1 EMA20 near 4370.6, with each pullback this week finding it, but the psych 4400 area has now capped two NY-session pushes (4399.53 and 4396.98). RSI(14) has cooled to the mid-50s from Thursday's extreme while price sits near the week high — momentum flattening rather than reversing.
Support: 4,370.60, 4,342.73, 4,326.00
Resistance: 4,400.00, 4,422.00
What it said to watch
Hourly close above the 4400 psych level opens the 4422 band mid
Loss of the 4342.73 friday low breaks the higher-low sequence built since Thursday
A slip back under the 4326 100dma would mark the two-day bounce as corrective
Dense Fed speaker slate from Monday (Goolsbee 10:30 UTC) can reset the yield-driven read
18:05 UTC
Uptrend, second leg of post-FOMC recovery · RSI 60 · price 4,392.39
Higher lows since Thursday's 4235 low, price pressing the week high.
Wednesday's FOMC bar gutted the week — a 130-dollar hourly candle into 4235.03 — but every session since has printed a higher low, and price is back above both EMA(20) near 4373 and EMA(50). The 4,400 round number has capped three separate hourly attempts (4399.53, 4398.45, 4398.09) with the NY session pullback to 4342.73 bought back within four bars, the rebound tracking the retreat in US yields and softer industrial production. RSI(14) at ~60 has cycled 45–65 through the recovery without stretching, so there is no hourly divergence against the highs yet.
Support: 4,373.00, 4,342.73, 4,320.81
Resistance: 4,422.00
What it said to watch
Hourly close above the 4,400 round number, then the 4422 range top, would extend the recovery structure toward the 4,500 shelf
Loss of 4342.73 swing low breaks the higher-low sequence built since Thursday and re-exposes the 4320.81 100-dma
Failure to hold the ema20 near 4373 on the next pullback would flatten the intraweek uptrend read
Monday's Fedspeak (Goolsbee) and Wednesday's US flash PMIs are the next scheduled drivers that could reset this range
Higher lows since the 4235 flush, capped under the week high.
The week's dominant move was Wednesday's FOMC bar, which dumped price 110 dollars into a 4235 low, and the two sessions since have retraced all of it — a yield retreat and softer dollar carried price back through the 4320 100-dma to a 4399.53 week high in the NY session. Friday's NY hours saw supply trim that back to a 4342.73 day low before the close reclaimed 4384, leaving price above EMA20 near 4368 with RSI(14) cycling in the 50s–60s rather than pressing extremes. The sequence of higher lows off 4235 is intact, but 4399.53 has capped two attempts and the 4422 band above it remains untested.
Support: 4,368.00, 4,342.73, 4,320.00
Resistance: 4,399.53, 4,422.00
What it said to watch
H1 close above 4399.53 (week high) opens the 4422 range cap
Loss of the 4342.73 day low breaks the higher-low sequence off 4235
Acceptance back below the 4320 100-dma re-exposes 4250/4235
Fed's Goolsbee Monday and Wednesday's US flash PMIs are the events that could reset this range read
Higher lows since the post-Fed flush, but capped by a lower-high sequence from 4399.
The FOMC hike drove the week's dominant bar — a 110-dollar collapse into the 4235.03 post-fed low — and that flush has been bought back steadily through the last two sessions, reclaiming the 100-dma pivot near 4320 and printing a week high at 4399.53 in the NY session. That push failed twice and price has since slipped back under the ema20 around 4363.50, with the session low at 4342.73 holding on three tests. RSI(14) has cooled from the mid-70s at the highs to roughly 52, consistent with consolidation inside a 4342-4399 band rather than fresh impulse.
Support: 4,342.73, 4,320.00, 4,235.03
Resistance: 4,363.50, 4,381.80, 4,399.53
What it said to watch
Hourly close back above the ema20 near 4363.50 and then the prior high at 4381.80 would re-open the week high at 4399.53
Loss of the session low at 4342.73 would break the higher-low sequence and put the 100-dma at 4320 back in focus, with the post-fed low at 4235.03 the reference below
Dense Fed speaker slate early next week and Wednesday's S&P Global flash PMIs are the catalysts that could shift this consolidation read
US 10y near 5% — the recovery off 4235 has tracked the yield retreat, so a fresh yield leg higher would pressure this structure
Higher lows since Thursday's low, first lower high forming under 4400.
The dominant move of the window was the post-Fed flush to 4235 on Wednesday's NY hours followed by two sessions of recovery, with the NY session yesterday and this morning's London hours driving the push to a week high at 4399.50 just shy of the 4400 psych handle — a yield- and oil-retreat story, helped at the margin by the 0% Industrial Production miss. That attempt was rejected: price has since lost the ema20 near 4364 and slipped back to 4353, leaving 4377 as the prior high to reclaim. The higher-low sequence off 4305 is still intact with the 4342 swing low as the nearest reference and RSI(14) back at the mid-50s/50 pivot.
Support: 4,342.00, 4,324.00, 4,305.00
Resistance: 4,364.00, 4,377.00, 4,399.50
What it said to watch
Hourly close back above 4377 prior high would restore the impulse toward the 4399.50 week high and the 4400 psych handle
Failure to hold the 4342 swing low breaks the higher-low sequence and puts the 4324 breakout base in play
Sustained trade below the ema20 keeps this a lower high rather than continuation
Fed speakers early next week and Wednesday's flash PMIs are the catalysts that could reset this range
Higher lows off 4235, but first lower high after 4399 rejection.
Gold has climbed in a stair-step of higher lows since the post-FOMC flush to 4235 on Wednesday, as the retreat in US yields and a second day of crude weakness knocked the dollar off its post-Fed high. The NY session today pushed to a 4399.5 day high — a rejection right at the 4400 round number — and price has since given back roughly 50 dollars, closing back below the EMA20 at 4362 for the first time since the leg began. RSI(14) has cycled down from the high-60s to the mid-40s, with the 4344 EMA50 and the 4334.5 day low now the first references beneath spot.
Support: 4,344.00, 4,334.50, 4,320.00
Resistance: 4,399.50
What it said to watch
Hourly close back above the ema20 at 4362 would repair the higher-high sequence into 4399
Failure to hold 4334.5 day low and the 4344 ema50 confirms the first lower low of the week
Loss of the 4320 100-dma would undo this week's recovery structure and put the 4275 pivot back in focus
Dense Fed speaker slate Monday-Tuesday and flash S&P Global PMIs Wednesday 13:45 UTC are the catalysts capable of resetting this range
13:06 UTC
Uptrend, momentum cooling after new week high · RSI 60 · price 4,372.63
Higher highs and higher lows since Wednesday's post-FOMC low, now consolidating under the week high.
Gold has traced a clean V off Wednesday's post-FOMC flush to 4235, and the advance extended through Thursday's NY session and into today's London hours to a week high at 4399.53 as yields and crude backed off. Price is now digesting just above the EMA(20) around 4368, with the pullback holding the day low at 4353.76 and RSI(14) cooling to roughly 60 from its overbought stretch on the 4399 print. Structure remains a series of higher lows off 4257, so the current sideways drift under the session high at 4382 reads as consolidation rather than distribution.
Support: 4,368.00, 4,353.76, 4,334.49
Resistance: 4,382.03, 4,399.53
What it said to watch
Hourly acceptance above 4399.53 week high would extend the rebound toward the 4400 handle area
Loss of the EMA(20) near 4368 and a close below the 4353.76 day low would confirm the first lower-low of this leg
Break of the higher-lows trendline into 4334.49 swing low invalidates the continuation read
US Industrial Production at 13:15 UTC (f/c 0.3%) lands inside the next bar and can reprice yields quickly
12:04 UTC
Uptrend, extended after impulse · RSI 65 · price 4,379.76
Series of higher lows off 4235, consolidating under week high.
Gold has built an unbroken sequence of higher lows since the post-FOMC flush to 4235 on Wednesday, with the NY session yesterday clearing the 4361-4371 supply shelf and this morning's London hours printing a week high at 4399.53, stalling just under the 4400 psych level. The recovery has tracked the second and third days of falling crude and the pullback in US yields, which blunted the hawkish dot-plot impulse. Price is holding above EMA(20) near 4370 with RSI(14) in the mid-60s, and the last four bars have coiled into a tight 4372.67-4399.53 consolidation.
Support: 4,372.67, 4,334.49
Resistance: 4,399.53, 4,400.00
What it said to watch
US Industrial Production at 13:15 UTC (f/c 0.3%) lands inside the next bar and can decide whether the consolidation resolves up or back into the shelf
Hourly close back below the 4372.67 session low and EMA(20) would break the higher-low sequence
Acceptance above 4400 psych would extend the breakout leg; repeated rejection there builds a double top risk against 4399.53
Loss of 4334.49 swing low would mark the post-FOMC recovery as complete
11:04 UTC
Uptrend, extended after impulse · RSI 67 · price 4,383.21
Higher highs and higher lows since Wednesday's post-Fed low.
Gold has run in a near-straight line off the 4235 post-Fed washout, and the NY session yesterday pushed through the 4361-4371 band that had capped Thursday, printing a week high at 4399.53 just under the 4400 psych level. The pullback into the Asia session held 4373.41 as the session low with EMA20 rising into 4368, so every dip this week has been absorbed above the prior breakout shelf rather than back inside it. RSI(14) near 67 is high but not extreme, consistent with an impulse that has recovered the entire hawkish-Fed drop as yields and crude eased.
Support: 4,373.41, 4,368.00, 4,334.49
Resistance: 4,399.53, 4,400.00
What it said to watch
Hourly close back under the 4368 ema20 and the 4373.41 session low would break the week's higher-low sequence
An hourly close above the 4399.53 week high opens the path through the 4400 psych level
Loss of 4334.49 swing low would mark the first lower low since the post-Fed reversal
US Industrial Production at 13:15 UTC is the only same-day catalyst and could reprice the yield-sensitive leg of this move
10:05 UTC
Uptrend, momentum stalling at the week high · RSI 66 · price 4,377.58
Higher highs and higher lows since Wednesday's 4235 low, first rejection into 4400.
The week's dominant move was the FOMC bar late Wednesday, which dumped price from 4368 to the 4235 week low in two hours; everything since has been a recovery in higher lows as Treasury yields and crude rolled over. London hours this morning cleared Thursday's 4381.15 prior day high and printed the 4399.53 week high before a 24-dollar fade back under 4381, leaving the last close pinned just above the EMA20 at ~4366. RSI(14) near 66 has flattened while price made its highest high of the week, so the push into 4400 is losing thrust rather than accelerating.
Support: 4,366.00, 4,340.56
Resistance: 4,381.15, 4,399.53
What it said to watch
Hourly close above 4399.53 week high would extend the higher-high sequence through the 4400 handle
Loss of the EMA20 at ~4366 and then 4340.56 prior day low would break the higher-low chain off the 4235 low
US Industrial Production at 13:15 UTC is the only scheduled catalyst before the weekend and can reset this range read
Failure to reclaim 4381.15 prior day high keeps the rejection in play and points back at the 4340s
09:05 UTC
Uptrend, extended into round number · RSI 71 · price 4,392.35
Higher highs and higher lows since the post-FOMC low, fresh week high printed.
The FOMC bar mid-window dumped gold from 4368 to 4235 in two hours, but every session since has built higher lows, with the Thursday NY session driving the leg through 4381 and the current London session clearing the prior high at 4377.30 to print a week high at 4399.53, just under the 4,400 handle. Price sits well above EMA(20) near 4368, which has caught each pullback this week, and RSI(14) at ~70 is the most stretched reading in the window. The bounce has been a function of cooling crude and Treasury yields taking the edge off the hawkish Fed dots rather than any change in the rate path.
Support: 4,377.30, 4,368.00, 4,334.49
Resistance: 4,399.53
What it said to watch
Repeated stalls at the 4399.53 week high without a close above it would mark that zone as a rejection area rather than a breakout
An hourly close back under the 4377.30 prior high would turn the breakout into a false break
Loss of EMA(20) near 4368 and then the 4334.49 swing low would end the higher-low sequence
US Industrial Production at 13:15 UTC and Fed's Bowman later today are the near-term event risks for this read
Higher highs and higher lows since Wednesday's flush; fresh week high printed in London.
Gold has reversed the entire post-FOMC break, rallying from Wednesday's 4235.03 low through the Monday open area near 4329 and, in this London session, through the old 4368 week high — the rebound has been oil-and-yield driven with CTA positioning stretched short into it. Price is tracking well above EMA(20) near 4363, with every pullback since yesterday's NY session holding above the rising higher-lows line off 4334.49. RSI(14) at ~68 is at the upper end of its weekly cycle but not yet stretched, with 4399.53 / the 4400 psych level the immediate cap.
Support: 4,377.27, 4,363.00, 4,334.49
Resistance: 4,399.53, 4,400.00
What it said to watch
Repeated failure at 4399.53 week high / 4400 psych would define a near-term ceiling for the squeeze
Hourly close back under 4377.27 prior high would signal the breakout is not holding
Loss of 4334.49 swing low breaks the higher-lows sequence off the week low
US Industrial Production 13:15 UTC (f/c +0.3%) lands inside the next NY session and can reprice yields, which have driven this move
Higher highs and higher lows since Wednesday's flush low.
Wednesday's NY session produced the violent post-FOMC flush to 4235.03 in a single bar, and every session since has printed a higher low — 4257, 4305, 4334 — with price now pressing the week high at 4397.17 into the Asia-London handover. The rebound is oil- and yield-led rather than gold-specific per the macro read, and it has carried price back above both EMA20 (~4360) and EMA50 (~4330), with EMA20 catching the pullbacks on Thursday's NY close and again overnight. RSI(14) at 67 is firm but not yet stretched, and it has been making higher lows alongside price rather than diverging.
Resistance: 4,397.17, 4,400.00
What it said to watch
Hourly close above 4400 round number extends the impulse off the 4235 low; repeated failure at the week high would mark it as a rejection area to monitor
Loss of 4360 ema20 on a closing basis would be the first break of the higher-low chain since Wednesday
A slip back under 4334 asia low invalidates the current continuation read
Fed's Bowman at 07:30 UTC and US Industrial Production at 13:15 UTC fall inside the next few bars and could reset the yield-driven move
06:04 UTC
Uptrend, recovery leg extending · RSI 61 · price 4,384.95
Higher highs and higher lows since Wednesday's post-FOMC low; week high taken out.
Wednesday's FOMC bar dumped gold from 4368 to 4235 in two hours, and price has climbed back in a stair-step channel of higher lows ever since, with the dominant leg coming in Thursday's NY session to 4381.15. The Asia session today has pushed through that prior high to a fresh week high at 4384.95, the digest attributing the squeeze to easing crude and Treasury yields rather than any change in the Fed read. RSI(14) at ~61 is rising without extremes and pullbacks are still being absorbed at the EMA20 near 4358.
Support: 4,381.15, 4,358.00, 4,334.49
Resistance: 4,400.00
What it said to watch
Acceptance above 4400 psych would extend the recovery leg; repeated failure there marks a stall
An hourly close back under 4358 (ema20) would be the first break of this recovery's higher-low sequence
Loss of 4334 session low would flip the intraday structure to lower highs
Fed's Bowman at 07:30 UTC and US Industrial Production at 13:15 UTC could materially shift this read within the next few bars
Higher lows into a tight consolidation under the week high.
The week opened near 4353, sold off to 4253 by Tuesday's NY session and then flushed to 4235.03 on the post-FOMC hawkish repricing before Thursday's London-NY window delivered a +2% short-covering squeeze to a 4381.15 week high as easing crude dragged Treasury yields off their highs. Since that spike price has consolidated in a 4334-4381 band, holding the EMA(20) now at ~4347 on every dip, with RSI(14) parked near 57 rather than pushing to extremes. Current price 4366.46 sits inside the 4361-4371 supply band that has capped three attempts since Thursday's high.
Support: 4,347.40, 4,334.49, 4,320.00
Resistance: 4,371.00, 4,381.15, 4,400.00
What it said to watch
Hourly close above the 4371 supply band and then 4381.15 week high would extend the breakout toward the 4400 psych level
Loss of the EMA(20) at ~4347 and the 4334.49 asia low would put the 4320 pivot back in play
Fed's Bowman at 07:30 UTC (~2.5h) and US Industrial Production at 13:15 UTC can materially shift this consolidation read
Failure to hold 4320 pivot would confirm the Thursday move as a squeeze rather than a base
Higher lows off the post-FOMC low, now consolidating under the week high.
The dominant move of the week was Wednesday's NY-session collapse — a single 110-point bar into 4235 after the hawkish Fed hike and lifted dot path — followed by an equally sharp Thursday NY recovery that cleared the 4361–4371 supply shelf and printed the week high at 4381. Since then price has gone sideways in a 4340–4366 band, with the swing low at 4340 holding twice and the EMA20 near 4350 acting as the pivot inside the consolidation. RSI(14) has cooled from overbought at the 4381 print back to the low 50s while price holds its gains, so the pullback has been time-based rather than a break of the higher-low sequence.
Support: 4,350.00, 4,340.00, 4,305.00
Resistance: 4,366.00, 4,381.00
What it said to watch
Fed's Bowman at 07:30 GMT and US Industrial Production at 13:15 GMT (f/c +0.3%) are the only scheduled catalysts in the next bar period and could reset this consolidation
An hourly close above 4381 would extend the recovery beyond the week high; failure to reclaim the prior high at 4366 keeps the range read intact
Loss of 4340 on a close breaks the higher-low sequence and puts the 4305 prior low back in play
Renewed upside in US 10y yields is what capped every bounce this week — a fresh yield push would pressure the EMA20 pivot
Higher lows off 4235, capped under 4381 week high.
The week's dominant move was the hawkish Fed hike, which knifed gold from 4368 to a 4235 one-month low in two hours, and the two sessions since have retraced most of it — a post-FOMC bounce through the 100-DMA area into a 4381.15 week high during NY hours yesterday as Treasury yields eased off multi-year highs. Since that high, price has built a lower-high sequence into the Asia session and is now pinned on EMA(20) around 4348, with RSI(14) back to the mid-40s after tagging overbought territory on the impulse. The 4341 asia low and 4365.6 asia high frame a tight overnight range inside the broader 4323–4381 recovery leg.
Support: 4,340.56, 4,323.38, 4,305.13
Resistance: 4,348.20, 4,365.60, 4,381.15
What it said to watch
H1 close above the 4365.6 asia high re-engages the 4381 week high
Failure to hold the 4340.56 asia low turns focus to the 4323 swing low, and below that the 4305 prior low, ending the higher-low sequence off 4235
Sustained reclaim of EMA20 near 4348 would keep the post-FOMC bounce structure intact
Fed's Bowman at 07:30 GMT and US Industrial Production at 13:15 GMT (f/c +0.3%) fall inside the next few H1 bars and could reset this read
Higher lows since Wednesday, coiling under session high.
Wednesday's hawkish Fed hike dumped gold in a single hour from 4368 to the 4235 one-month low, and the entire back half of the week has been a grinding recovery: a chain of higher lows off 4257, 4274 and 4305 as yields and the dollar eased into the NY session yesterday, peaking at the 4381 thu high. Price has since spent the last ten bars boxed between the 4365.60 session high and rising EMA(20) support near 4341, with RSI(14) unwinding from the high-60s back to the low-50s while price holds — momentum cooling rather than reversing. The prior 100-DMA ceiling around 4327 now sits beneath the market as the prior high shelf that capped bounces earlier in the week.
Support: 4,341.00, 4,324.00, 4,305.13
Resistance: 4,365.60, 4,381.15
What it said to watch
H1 close above the 4365.60 session high reopens the 4381.15 thu high
Loss of the 4341 ema20 breaks the higher-lows sequence and puts 4324 prior high back in play
A close under 4305.13 swing low would reset the week's recovery structure
Fed's Bowman 07:30 GMT and US Industrial Production 13:15 GMT are the near-term catalysts for this consolidation
Higher lows since Thursday's Asia low, capped by lower highs under the week high.
The dominant bar of the week is Wednesday's FOMC hour, which flushed from 4368 to 4235 on a hawkish hike and dot plot; Thursday's NY session reversed the entire move, breaking back above the 4327 area that had capped every rally and printing the week high at 4381. Since then price has consolidated in a 4340–4381 band with a series of lower highs, but each dip has been retested and held around the EMA(20) near 4342, and RSI(14) has cooled from overbought to roughly 61 without breaking the higher-low sequence. The Asia session has drifted back to 4361 in thin conditions, mid-range.
Support: 4,323.40, 4,300.00
Resistance: 4,381.20
What it said to watch
Hourly close below 4342 ema20 puts the 4323 swing low back in play; losing that breaks the higher-low sequence built since Thursday
A sustained loss of 4323 reopens the 4300 psych area
Close above the 4372 prior high, then the 4381 week high, would extend the recovery leg
Fed's Bowman at 07:30 UTC and US Industrial Production at 13:15 UTC (f/c +0.3%) are the near-term drivers via yields; a firm print could reassert the 4327 cap