LONDON, United Kingdom / EuroWire.IO / – Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday, October 28, after rising more than 1% in the previous session. Spot gold gained 0.1% to $4,061.86 per ounce by 00:36 GMT. US gold futures for December delivery steadied at $4,075.60. Investors were waiting for the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, due later in the day after a two-day policy meeting.
Other precious metals moved in different directions in early Asian trading. Spot silver rose 0.1% to $54.38 per ounce. Platinum lost 0.2% to $1,537.58, while palladium gained 0.5% to $1,031.42. The gains in gold came after a firmer dollar pulled prices close to $4,004 earlier in the week. Bullion had recovered above the $4,000 level by Tuesday. Silver is more than 50% below its 2026 high of $121.67, according to USAGOLD.
The Fed held its benchmark interest rate in a range of 3.75% to 4.00% later on Wednesday, according to Investing.com. The decision was passed in a 10-2 vote. Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack preferred a quarter-point rate increase. The hold had been widely expected after the central bank’s rate hike in September, its first in more than three years. Markets had priced only a small chance of a move at this meeting.
Gold well below its 2026 peak
Gold remains well below the record levels reached earlier this year. The metal is about 28% below its 2026 high of $5,598.58 per ounce, according to precious metals dealer USAGOLD. It broke below $4,000 last week for the first time since mid-July. That move left gold with a weekly loss of about 4%, its worst in roughly four months. The metal is down about 6% since the start of the year.
Higher interest rates tend to weigh on gold, which pays no interest to holders. Oil prices have added to concerns about inflation. Brent crude rose 1.1% to $115.12 a barrel on Wednesday amid fighting in Yemen. The Iran-backed Houthis said they had attacked Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery on Tuesday. Gold has seen sharp swings this year, including weekly losses as investors unwound an inflation rally.
Warsh points to data ahead
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said the employment picture was quite positive and that policymakers focused mainly on inflation. He said financial conditions had tightened somewhat since the September meeting. Warsh described the coming period as information rich. He said new data would help the Fed decide where policy should go. Gold rose 0.2% to $4,069.86 an ounce after the decision as the dollar eased. Warsh also announced changes to the Fed’s meeting schedule for 2027 and 2028.
Investors are now looking to US economic data due on Thursday. The figures include third-quarter gross domestic product and the September personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure. Gold futures rose 0.8% to $4,084.15 after the Fed announcement. The gold-to-silver ratio stood at about 75, up from around 60 at the start of the year. A higher ratio means gold has outperformed silver.