Powell's hawkish inflation message lifts September hike odds; gold tumbles more than $120

BlockBeats reported that on August 29, comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on the need to rein in inflation drove markets to price in a higher likelihood of additional rate hikes. The shift boosted the U.S. dollar and weighed on precious metals. Spot gold was down 2.6% on the day at the time of writing, sliding more than $120 to $4,480 an ounce, after hitting an intraday weekly low of $4,464. Independent analyst Tai Wong said Powell made clear inflation has yet to show meaningful signs of cooling and stressed the Fed "still has work to do," sparking a sharp selloff in gold. Wong added that even if the messaging proves to be more bluster than follow-through, it was enough to frame the September meeting as a near coin flip between a hike and a pause. He also called the remarks Powell's clearest signal yet that further increases may be needed to ease price pressures, noting Powell said the Fed "still has work to do" if policymakers cannot be confident underlying inflation is steadily moving back to the 2% target. Traders moved quickly to increase bets on a September rate increase. Elsewhere in precious metals, spot silver fell 3.63% to $66.77 an ounce. Spot platinum flipped from gains to losses, down 0.27% at $1,841.90. Spot palladium held onto gains, up 5.05% at $1,418.30.