Gold prices eased in Asian trading on Thursday, as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes, which highlighted lingering caution over interest rate cuts. The stronger dollar added further pressure, while market attention turned to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday.
Spot gold fell 0.3% to $3,339.31 per ounce, and October gold futures dipped 0.2% to $3,381.62/oz by 01:20 ET (05:20 GMT). Trading this week has largely remained within a narrow range, reflecting uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy.
Hawkish Fed minutes weigh on gold and metals
The minutes from the Fed’s late-July meeting reinforced a cautious “wait-and-see” stance on rate cuts. While two policymakers had favored reducing rates in July, most members preferred holding steady, citing inflationary pressures from U.S. trade tariffs as a key risk.
Officials also appeared willing to prioritize low inflation over immediate labor market cooling, suggesting the Fed may overlook July’s weak payroll numbers. Following the release, traders scaled back expectations of a September rate cut. CME FedWatch now shows a 78.4% chance of a 25-basis-point cut, down from near certainty earlier in August.
Higher-for-longer interest rates tend to weigh on non-yielding assets like gold, increasing the opportunity cost of holding them. Nevertheless, gold has retained much of its 2025 gains, supported by safe-haven demand amid slowing global growth and geopolitical uncertainty. Recent market reactions also reflected skepticism that U.S. efforts to broker a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire will produce near-term results.
Other precious metals remained relatively stable. Spot platinum fell 0.2% to $1,337.45/oz, while spot silver held steady at $37.91/oz. Industrial metals also showed mild declines, with London Metal Exchange copper futures down 0.2% at $9,719.45 per ton and COMEX copper futures falling 0.1% to $4.4287 per pound.
Powell speech and economic data in focus
Investors are now focused on Powell’s remarks at Jackson Hole for signals on the Fed’s policy path and potential responses to calls from the Trump administration for rate cuts. Ahead of the speech, a series of U.S. economic reports—including August’s purchasing managers index and initial jobless claims—will provide further insight into the health of the labor market and broader economy.
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