Gold slips at close despite US rate-cut expectations

Gold bars

Gold prices fell at Wednesday’s settlement despite broad expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut borrowing costs at its final meeting of 2025.

February gold futures fell 0.27%, or $11.5, to $4,224.7 an ounce.

The decline came even as the Fed delivered a third consecutive 25-basis-point cut to its key interest rate, in line with expectations. One Federal Open Market Committee member backed a deeper 50-basis-point cut, while two others favored keeping rates unchanged.

However, the committee’s quarterly projections signaled the possibility of only one rate cut in both 2026 and 2027, adding uncertainty to the outlook for monetary easing, particularly after Chair Jerome Powell stressed the need to stick to a cautious, data-driven approach.