Gold prices in Asian trading on Friday inched higher, keeping momentum for a fifth consecutive weekly gain after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates earlier this week, a move widely anticipated by markets.
Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,650.14 an ounce by 02:25 ET (06:25 GMT), having touched an all-time high of $3,707.40 on Wednesday. U.S. December Gold Futures also added 0.2% to $3,683.70. The metal had slipped 1.3% over the previous two sessions as the dollar strengthened from three-year lows following Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s cautious comments on future easing.
At its Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday, the Fed lowered its benchmark rate to 4.00%-4.25%, marking its first cut since December. The updated “dot plot” signaled expectations for two additional cuts by year-end, with only one projected in 2026. Stephen Miran dissented, advocating a larger 50-basis-point reduction.
Gold had been climbing in anticipation of monetary easing and rising concerns about the Fed’s future independence, although aggressive cuts were seen as unlikely amid signs of labor market softness and rising unemployment risk. In his post-meeting remarks, Powell described the rate cut as a “risk-management” step in response to a cooling labor market and stressed that policy decisions would be made on a meeting-by-meeting basis due to uncertainty over inflation and economic growth.
Following the Fed decision, gold dipped slightly as the U.S. dollar firmed, with the Dollar Index up 0.1% after sharp gains in the previous two sessions.
Elsewhere, the Bank of Japan maintained its interest rate at 0.5% on Friday, citing political uncertainty and U.S. tariff challenges.
Other metals traded higher: Silver Futures gained 0.7% to $42.415 per ounce, Platinum Futures remained largely unchanged at $1,396.60 per ounce, London Metal Exchange Copper Futures rose 0.3% to $9,983.50 a ton, and U.S. Copper Futures added 0.2% to $4.61 a pound.
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