Gold Prices Tumble Amid Hawkish Fed Outlook

Gold prices continued to decline on September 16, falling about 2% over the past three trading sessions. Despite spot gold rising 0.2% to $4,273.82 an ounce as of 7:52 a.m. in Singapore, the metal remains under pressure.

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage point for the first time in three years and signaled another increase could come before the end of the year. The median year-end policy-rate projection from Fed officials rose to 4.1% from 3.8%, a hawkish signal that the dollar strengthened.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh emphasized inflation risks at a press conference after the decision, citing annualized rates above 3% over both the past six months and the past 12 months for a substantial share of goods and services.