Hawkish comments by Powell lift rate hike bets, sending spot gold down over $120 intraday.

After Fed Chair Waller delivered remarks on curbing inflationary pressures, market bets on Federal Reserve interest rate hikes rose sharply, the U.S. dollar strengthened, and precious metals including gold came under heavy selling pressure. As of press time, spot gold fell 2.6% on the day, dropping more than $120 to $4,480 per ounce, and hit a weekly low of $4,464 during the session. Independent analyst Tai Wong noted: "Chair Waller made clear that inflation has not seen a substantial slowdown, and emphasized that the Fed 'still has work to do'—a statement that triggered a sharp sell-off in the gold market. While this may still be a communication strategy of 'much ado about nothing', it is enough to make the market view the September meeting as a deadlocked situation where the odds of a rate hike and a pause are evenly matched." Waller’s remarks are his most explicit public statement to date acknowledging that further interest rate hikes may be needed to ease price pressures. In his speech, he pointed out that if policymakers cannot be confident that core inflation is steadily returning to the 2% target, the Fed "still has work to do." As a result, traders quickly ramped up their bets on a September rate hike. For other precious metals: Spot silver fell 3.63% to $66.77 per ounce; spot platinum turned from gain to loss on the day, down 0.27% to $1,841.9; spot palladium’s gain narrowed to 5.05% at $1,418.3.