Gold Continues to Fall After Fed Officials Speak
Gold continued to fall as comments from Federal Reserve officials over the weekend reinforced the view that the U.S. central bank will take a more cautious approach to cutting interest rates this year.
Bullion traded near $2,640 an ounce after San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Fed Governor Adriana Kugler stressed the need to resolve the fight against inflation and reach the authority’s 2% target. Lower interest rates tend to benefit gold, since it doesn’t pay interest.
Barkin Says He Would Prefer Fed to Keep Rates Restrictive Longer Last month, the Fed reined in the number of rate cuts it expects to make in 2025, as Chairman Jerome Powell signaled greater caution over how quickly policy makers can continue to reduce borrowing costs. That could be a drag on the precious metal after it surged 27% last year in a record move driven in part by U.S. monetary easing.
Spot gold was steady at $2,639.46 an ounce at 8:29 a.m. in Singapore, after falling 0.7% on Friday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%. Silver was flat, while palladium and platinum fell.
A slew of data this week — including nonfarm payrolls and job openings — will be watched for clues on the Fed’s easing path as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House this month. The Fed’s December meeting minutes are also due this week.
Source: Bloomberg
