Important Upcoming Releases today

Here are some very important economic releases upcoming shortly at around 11:45 PM local time, which are expected to make a huge impact on direction of Gold.

FOMC Economic Projections : This report includes the FOMC's projection for inflation and economic growth over the next 2 years and, more importantly, a breakdown of individual FOMC member's interest rate forecasts. This projection is important because it's the primary tool the Fed uses to communicate their economic and monetary projections to investors.

FOMC Statement : the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) usually changes the statement slightly at each release. It's these changes that traders focus on. It is important because it's the primary tool the FOMC uses to communicate with investors about monetary policy. It contains the outcome of their vote on interest rates and other policy measures, along with commentary about the economic conditions that influenced their votes. Most importantly, it discusses the economic outlook and offers clues on the outcome of future votes.

These releases are followed by Federal Funds Rate which was <0.25 % earlier and is projected to be <0.25 %; and FOMC Press Conference.  The press conference is about an hour long and has 2 parts - first a prepared statement is read, then the conference is open to press questions. The questions often lead to unscripted answers, which create heavy market volatility. The press conference is webcasted on the Fed's Ustream channel in real-time. Why is it important? It's among the primary methods the Fed uses to communicate with investors regarding monetary policy. It covers in detail the factors that affected the most recent interest rate and other policy decisions, along with commentary about economic conditions such as the future growth outlook and inflation. Most importantly, it provides clues regarding future monetary policy.