Federal Reserve Hike Slams Gold Prices Amid Rising Interest Rates

The Federal Reserve implemented its first interest rate increase since 2023 on Wednesday, hiking rates by 0.25%. Spot gold initially declined but rebounded to reach $4,314.57 per ounce, a 1.2% gain.

Gold futures contracts, however, dropped 0.8% to $4,354.09 per ounce during early trading sessions. The Federal Reserve's updated median forecast for the policy rate by year-end 2026 now stands at 4.1%, up from the earlier 3.8% projection.

Analyst Tony Sycamore notes that gold must surpass $4,539 to break its present bearish trend and reclaim territory above its 200-day moving average.