XAUUSD 8H: This isn’t balance — it’s broadening distributionAt first glance, it may seem like gold is consolidating. In reality, price is unfolding inside a broadening formation — a structure where highs stretch higher, lows drop deeper, and real direction vanishes behind controlled volatility. This isn’t random noise. It’s Smart Money engineering a distribution phase under the cover of market indecision. And right now, the direction is forming clearly — downward.
The key moment was the failed breakout above 3357 on May 24. Volume spiked 19% above average, but the candle body collapsed. That’s a textbook deviation — a classic liquidity grab. The next candle confirmed the failure by closing back below the level, and no bullish recovery followed. Instead, price printed a lower high around 3305–3315, failing to retest the top. And when price can’t go higher — it usually goes lower.
Confirmation comes from the Anchored VWAP from May 13, which was broken cleanly and never retested. That’s a major shift in control — from buyer to seller. Now price trades below VWAP, with every bullish candle fading and every bearish reaction gaining strength. This is not trend continuation. This is exhaustion.
Volume profile shows the Point of Control between 3297 and 3301 — and price sits well below it. The bulk of liquidity is now overhead. That zone between 3305–3315 is where Smart Money already sold once — and if price returns there, it becomes an ideal re-entry short zone, especially if followed by rejection candles or low-volume pushups.
Targets are clean:
→ 3228 — first liquidity shelf.
→ 3164 — former impulse base.
→ 3084 — if breakdown accelerates.
Everything lines up: deviation, failed breakout, VWAP lost, volume fading, lower highs forming. This isn’t a pause. This is a phase transition — and the market already voted.
