Following a quarter-point increase in the federal funds rate by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, precious metals such as silver and gold experienced a surge in value against the U.S. dollar, with gains ranging from 0.87% to 1.18%. Gold, in particular, has been on an upward trajectory, having risen by 3.4% in the past month and over 25% in the last six months.
Fed’s Rate Hike Sparks Surge in Gold and Silver Values
As of May 3, 2023, the price of gold per ounce has once again surpassed the $2,000 mark, currently trading at $2,057 per unit, representing a 1.18% increase in the past 24 hours. The Fed’s rate hike has sparked a flurry of activity on Twitter, with precious metals trending and generating numerous discussions and tweets. Meanwhile, global data from Google Trends indicates that the search term “how to buy gold” reached a perfect score of 100 on Wednesday afternoon, according to 24-hour statistics.
Silver has also been on the rise, with the value of an ounce increasing by 0.87% against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday. Over the past 30 days, silver has seen a 6% increase, while six-month statistics reveal a 31.5% rise against the greenback. Following the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) decision to raise the benchmark bank rate on Wednesday, chair Jerome Powell emphasized the central bank’s unwavering commitment to reducing inflation.
“The assessment of the extent to which additional policy firming may be appropriate is going to be an ongoing one, meeting by meeting,” Powell remarked. “We have to balance the risk of not doing enough and not getting inflation under control against the risk of slowing down economic activity too much. And we thought that this rate hike, along with the meaningful change in our policy statement, was the right way to balance that.”
Crypto Assets Rise While Crude Oil Prices Plummet
On Wednesday, not only did gold experience a surge in value, but crypto assets also saw a rise, with bitcoin (BTC) surpassing the $29K per unit range and ethereum (ETH) reaching over $1,900 per unit. Both leading crypto assets saw gains ranging from 1.3% to 1.8% against the greenback.
However, market observers also witnessed a significant drop in crude oil prices on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Blend, Nymex crude, Dubai Crude, and the OPEC Reference Basket all recording losses during the day’s trading sessions. This decline in crude prices follows Saudi Arabia and OPEC’s decision to cut back on production earlier this week.
What are your thoughts on the recent surge in gold, silver, and crypto prices, and how do you think the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise the federal funds rate will impact the market in the long run? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.