Gold futures on COMEX ticked down 0.88% to $4,348.90 per ounce in early trade on Thursday after the Federal Reserve’s 25‑basis‑point hike, pushing the benchmark currency higher and the precious metal lower.
The price is well below the January all‑time high of $5,589 per ounce that the market hit earlier this year, indicating a sustained cooling trend after the peak.
Chris Wood, Jefferies’ global head of equity strategy, told CNBC‑TV18 that the Fed’s current stance shows a “limited ability to keep rates high,” and that fixing bond yields could weaken the dollar and lift gold. He added that a $10,000 per ounce target is feasible if the Treasury moves to cap yields.
Wood also noted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s recent bid to ease pressure on the long end of the curve through an expanded buyback program. He warned that a long‑term dollar weakening would be a boon for India’s massive household gold holdings, now being monetised through a booming lending market.
On the flip side, Wood cautioned that if the Fed’s chair, Kevin Warsh, pursues a hard tightening cycle and shrinks the balance sheet, the dollar could rally, pushing bond yields higher and pulling gold lower. He remains skeptical of such a scenario until it materialises.
Market watchers now weigh the Fed’s next move against Wood’s yield‑fixing thesis, with implications for both the dollar and gold across emerging markets and institutional portfolios.