Precious metals see another sell-off as New York gold prices plunge nearly 3% on the 1st, falling below the $4,400 mark.

　　Source: Xinhua Finance

　　Xinhua Finance, New York, September 1st (Reporter Xu Jing) — On September 1st, the most actively traded December 2026 gold futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $121.6, closing at $4,375.7 per ounce, a decrease of 2.70%.

　　Pressured by a global bond sell-off, a strengthening US dollar, and surging oil prices, gold and silver prices dropped significantly on the day. Gold prices fell below $4,400 per ounce, down nearly 7% from last week's high near $4,700.

　　Analysts believe that the current focus of the precious metals market remains the repositioning of monetary policy following the Jackson Hole meeting. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Walsh stated at the meeting that if inflation fails to rise back to the Fed’s 2% target, further tightening of monetary policy is not ruled out.

　　Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr also said at a banking forum in Washington on the 1st that the inflation rate has been above the Fed’s 2% target for nearly five and a half consecutive years, and he is concerned that “broader price pressures are spreading.” “If inflation does not sufficiently cool, I think we should act decisively and raise interest rates.”

　　In addition, geopolitical crises continue to impact oil prices and inflation expectations. After the United States attacked an Iranian rocket launch site on an island near the Strait of Hormuz last Sunday, the US Central Command on the 1st announced on social media that it had completed another round of strikes on Iranian military targets. This strike targeted Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mining capabilities, and communication sites. US President Trump later posted on social media that if Iran retaliates against this strike, the US will launch “even more ferocious, higher-level” attacks. On the Iranian side, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on the 1st that it had begun to respond to the US attack that day and claimed to have shot down a US MQ-9 drone.

　　Against the backdrop of renewed clashes between the US and Iran, international oil prices surged on the 1st, with Brent crude oil rising above $94 per barrel, and WTI crude oil also breaking through the $90 per barrel mark.

　　Looking ahead, analysts believe that as policy expectations remain firmly inclined toward further monetary tightening, the August Consumer Price Index (CPI), to be released on the 11th, will serve as a decisive test for whether these interest rate expectations and the dollar’s recovery can be sustained.

　　On the same day, December-delivered silver futures prices fell by 254.5 cents, closing at $64.660 per ounce, a decrease of 3.79%.

Editor: Zhu Henan