Gold, Silver Prices Plummet Amid Hawkish Fed Outlook
Gold and silver prices fell sharply in late-afternoon U.S. trading on Friday, after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at Jackson Hole reinforced the central bank's inflation fight. This move lifted short-end yields, firming the U.S. dollar and forcing a heavy unwind in precious metals. At the time of writing, spot gold was trading near $4,456.00 an ounce, down 3.14%, while spot silver was trading at $66.210, down 4.24% on the session.
The latest positioning shifted sharply toward a more hawkish Fed path after Warsh's speech and the Labor Department's payroll benchmark revision. The preliminary benchmark revision showed March 2026 payrolls were overstated by 79,000 jobs, far smaller than the large downward adjustment some traders had feared. September hike odds jumped to 57.5% from 35.9%, the two-year Treasury yield rose 11.8 basis points to 4.348%, and the dollar index gained 0.5% on the day.
Precious metals were the clear casualty of the rate repricing, with gold falling through its 200-day moving average at $4,526.24 and below the bear-market threshold cited in technical work. The Strait of Hormuz remains a key geopolitical channel into oil, inflation expectations, and defensive demand, but Friday's market impact came through easing supply fears rather than a fresh crude spike.
The move leaves silver's breakout structure damaged but not fully broken, while gold's break below the 200-day average makes the next few sessions a test of whether the selloff is a Warsh-driven flush or the start of a broader technical reset. The key outside markets see Nymex WTI crude oil prices lower and trading around $83.18 a barrel.