Fed Proposes Cutting Meetings, Potentially Disrupting Gold and Silver Market
The Federal Reserve released its July 28-29 meeting minutes on August 19, confirming a 9-3 vote to hold interest rates. However, the minutes revealed a significant proposal from Chair Kevin Warsh: reducing the number of scheduled FOMC meetings from eight to six per year starting in 2027.
Warsh argued that fewer meetings would allow more information to accumulate between meetings and give policymakers and staff more time to consider strategic monetary policy issues. The committee discussed the idea but made no decision, with Warsh stating that the existing schedule holds for the rest of 2026 regardless of the outcome.
The move is a structural change in how the Fed communicates with markets. With fewer meetings, there will be longer stretches without scheduled events to force an unwind, allowing positioning to build in either direction. This could impact gold and silver prices, as investors hold physical metal for long-term cases.