Gold prices weakened slightly on Thursday (August 21st) after the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's July meeting showed a majority consensus to keep interest rates on hold, as investors awaited the central bank's annual Jackson Hole symposium later for further policy guidance.
Spot gold prices fell 0.2% to $3,340.09 per ounce, as of 08:02 GMT. US gold futures for December delivery also fell 0.2% to $3,382.30.
The minutes of the Fed's July meeting showed that policymakers who disagreed with last month's decision to keep interest rates on hold – Vice Chair Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller – were the only ones advocating for a rate cut.
"The FOMC minutes were hawkish, and the Fed board remains likely to prioritize controlling inflation by maintaining a tight monetary policy rather than cutting the cost of money," said Carlo Alberto De Casa, an external analyst at Swissquote. Non-yielding gold typically performs well in a low-interest rate environment.
The Fed has held interest rates steady since December, although investors still price in an 81% chance of a quarter-point cut in September, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to speak on Friday at the Jackson Hole symposium from August 21-23, with investors watching to see whether he supports measures to strengthen the labor market or focuses on controlling inflation.
"A hawkish Fed could impact gold prices, but as long as gold remains in the $3,270-$3,440 range, there's not a significant risk of a sharp decline (given) the central bank is still buying tons of gold," De Casa added. Meanwhile, President Trump urged Fed Chair Lisa Cook to resign over allegations made by one of his political allies about mortgages she held, further strengthening his efforts to influence the central bank. Cook said that Lisa "has no intention of being intimidated into resigning" from her post.
China's central bank added gold to its reserves in July, the ninth consecutive month of gold purchases, official data showed earlier this month. Spot silver fell 0.2% to $37.83 an ounce, platinum fell 1% to $1,326.93, and palladium fell 0.8% to $1,105.12. (alg)
Source: Reuters
Gold prices briefly caused a stir after hitting a new record, but then slowed. The main trigger: US President Donald Trump withheld the threat of tariffs on Europe and claimed there was a "framework" ...
Gold prices hit another record high, while silver held near its all-time high. This rise was driven by two major factors: the escalating Greenland crisis and turmoil in the Japanese government debt ma...
Gold prices remained near all-time highs on Tuesday, hovering around $4,670 per ounce. Demand for safe haven assets remained strong as US-European trade tensions escalated, prompting investors to refr...
Gold and silver hit new records after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries that oppose his Greenland plan. This situation immediately pushed investors int...
Gold price rises on Friday, poised to end with weekly gains of nearly 4% as an employment report in the US was mixed, with the economy adding fewer jobs than projected. Still, the Unemployment Rate ti...
Gold prices briefly caused a stir after hitting a new record, but then slowed. The main trigger: US President Donald Trump withheld the threat of tariffs on Europe and claimed there was a "framework" for a future agreement on Greenland. This calmer...
Oil prices were little changed in Asian trading on Thursday after US President Donald Trump backed down from a threat to impose tariffs on European countries over Greenland. This decision helped ease geopolitical tensions and improve market...
The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.73% to close at 53,689, while the broader Topix Index rose 0.74% to 3,616 on Thursday, snapping a five-day losing streak as Japanese shares were lifted by a strong rally in chip and artificial intelligence related...