Twelve Wall Street analysts participated in the foreign media survey. The vast majority of analysts believe that gold will rise this week. Ten analysts (about 83%) believe that the price of gold is expected to rise this week, one analyst (about 8%) predicts that the price will fall, and another analyst expects the price of gold to move sideways in the next week.

Meanwhile, 164 retail investors participated in the online voting. 108 retail investors (about 66%) expect the price of gold to rise this week. Another 26 people (about 16%) expect gold to fall, while the remaining 30 (about 18%) expect gold prices to move sideways.

Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, said he was unsure whether weak employment data increased the possibility that the Fed would cut interest rates, but weakness in other asset classes provided a new bullish impetus for gold prices.

Cieszynski agreed that the June meeting minutes did not surprise the market. “When the Federal Reserve announced its forecast, it was already clear that they will only cut interest rates once this year, either before or after the election.” He said, “The latest employment data is very stagnant, because as soon as you study the employment data thoroughly, you will find that the situation is not good. The decline in last month's data surpassed this month's increase, while wages and hourly wages have not declined.”

He added, “The Federal Reserve is still on the sidelines. They seem to be showing a dovish stance only to boost the market, otherwise they will be in trouble.”

Cieszynski said that based on gold's reaction last Friday, he believes “it's just reducing the possibility of interest rate hikes right now.” He said, “People are more convinced that even if the Fed wants to open the door to interest rate hikes, the Fed may not actually raise interest rates. They may have to raise interest rates if inflation starts to soar, and things are very complicated here.”

Cieszynski believes that the biggest boost to gold last week was Bitcoin's decline. “Bitcoin has been hit hard once again, and I think we're starting to see some money flowing back into gold and silver.” He said, “I see them all as alternative currencies, and when people feel aggressive and want to take risks, they rush out to buy Bitcoin. When people start to feel more concerned, they go back to gold.”

Cieszynski also said that he expects US stocks to weaken across the board, even if a few strong tech stocks are still hiding this fact. “U.S. stocks seem to be collapsing below the top, which is more beneficial to gold.”

He also shared the view that the market's confidence in the Fed's interest rate cut in September is growing, but he warned, “I don't think much has really changed last week. A lot of deals have been distorted due to the effects of all the holidays. Cieszynski said that overall, he still believes that gold is in a strong position and can rise further.

He said, “I'm bullish on gold. It looks like money is coming back, as money is flowing out of cryptocurrencies and US stocks, so it's clear that it's looking elsewhere.”