(Kitco News) Even though gold is wrapping up the week down $30 — its worst performance since February — the Friday afternoon rebound keeps the bullish gold trend alive. The gold market recovered after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said rates might not have to rise as much due to tighter credit conditions after the banking sector turmoil.
“The financial stability tools helped to calm conditions in the banking sector. Developments there, on the other hand, are contributing to tighter credit conditions and are likely to weigh on economic growth, hiring and inflation,” Powell said at the Thomas Laubach Research Conference Friday. “So, as a result, our policy rate may not need to rise as much as it would have otherwise to achieve our goals. Of course, the extent of that is highly uncertain.”
This was a sign that the Fed could pause in June. After Powell’s comments, market expectations of a rate hike in June fell from nearly 50% to 20%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. The news calmed the gold sellers after market participants began to price in another 25-basis point hike next month and pared bets of a rate cut in the second half of the year.
At the May meeting, the Fed hiked for the tenth consecutive time, which brought the federal funds rate to a 5-5.25% range – the highest since mid-2007. In just over a year, the Fed raised rates by 5%. The next monetary policy meeting is scheduled on June 13-14.
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