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Gold prices reversed their gains and fell by more than 1% on Friday, 28 August, following United States Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's speech and amid small downward revision in the US nonfarm payrolls numbers, according to reports. Warsh in his speech hinted that the central bank could undertake interest rate hikes to counter high inflation in the US, pushing spot gold by 0.8% to $4,563.05 per ounce by 1452 GMT, Reuters reported. Notably, the slump comes after the precious metal hit a three-month high on Tuesday, 25 August, at $4,696.18/ounce based on enthusiasm following the US Treasury's support for long-term bonds, the report added. Notably, at time of writing, gold was trading at ₹1,56,780 per 10 grams, down ₹2,830 or 1.770%, data on the bullion website showed. “Gold is getting slapped hard as Warsh affirms that inflation isn't meaningfully slowing and the Fed has ‘work to do’. While it may once again be ‘speak loudly and carry a short stick’ this will make the market price the September meeting as a coin flip,” independent analyst Tai Wong told the publication. Notably, Warsh's term has been dogged by concerns over his focus on fighting inflation. Economists and Wall Street analysts were looking to today's speech for clarity on how Warsh intends to deal with inflation that remains above the Fed’s 2% target. During his speech, the Fed chief acknowledged that inflation in the US is still too high and hinted that the central bank may have to act — his first signal that the Fed could hike interest rates. “We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do,” Warsh stated. According to a report by Kitco, gold prices also took a hit from latest employment data from the US, which showed a slight fall in non-farm payroll over the past year. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics today said that Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates showed the national benchmark for March 2026 fell 0.1% or -79,000. “The preliminary benchmark revision for total private employment was -178,000 (-0.1%). The annual benchmark revisions over the last 10 years have an absolute average of 0.2% of total nonfarm employment,” it added. Speaking at the annual Jackson Hole Symposium in Wyoming, Warsh said that the price-stability side of the Fed’s mandate is more of a concern than the slowing labour market. “There are always areas of concern in the labour market—for example, among recent graduates. In general, though, people who want to work, by and large, are holding or finding jobs. They may well be concerned about possible future labor disruptions, but as of now, I believe the labor markets are consistent with full employment. But on the price-stability side of our mandate, the numbers are more concerning. The Fed's preferred measure of inflation, the 12-month change in the PCE price index, stands at 3.7%, while the six-month change is 4.1%.” “We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do. That's our job . . . our mandate . . . and our charge to keep,” the central bank chief added. (With inputs from Agencies) Catch all the Business News , Market News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates. Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.
document fetched 2026-08-29 02:42 · canonical https://livemint.com/market/commodities/gold-prices-down-1-pc-us-fed-chair-kevin-warsh-hints-interest-rate-hike-trade-rs-156780-10-gm-spot-rate-inflation-labour-11787931055296.html