Sentiment shows gold is stuck in neutral at around $2,000 an ounce

(Kitco News) - The gold market is clinging to $2,000 an ounce heading into the weekend; however, strong neutral sentiment in the marketplace suggests that the precious metal is in no hurry to go anywhere anytime soon.

In the latest Kitco News Weekly Gold survey, most analysts said that gold prices could continue to struggle next week as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points and reiterates its hawkish stance as elevated inflation threatens to embed itself in the broader economy.

"The meeting of the Federal Reserve next week will be a key determinant of gold's near-term direction, but the risk remains on the downside," said Adrian Day, president of Adrian Day Asset Management. "Gold will likely continue to pull back from the early April high of $2040 on concerns about tighter monetary policy; this follows overblown optimism in March about a Fed pivot."

So far, markets have all but fully priced in a 25 basis point hike next week; however, analysts note that gold will be sensitive to any forward guidance suggesting more rate hikes this year or that the central bank will maintain its aggressive policies longer than expected.