Gold falls as market eyes Fed monetary tightening in December

Gold closed Thursday's session (29) with a slight drop, according to Money Times, in a session in which the market sees expectations of monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve (Fed), the central bank of the United States. The contract for December on Comex/Nymex fell 0.50%, quoted at US$4,031.4 per troy ounce.

The backdrop is the Fed's recent decision, which kept the interest rate between 3.75% and 4.00% per year. In general, precious metals react to this type of signal, as assets that do not pay interest tend to lose attractiveness when the cost of money rises.

According to Money Times, the expectation of tightening is linked to the next Fed meeting, scheduled for December. In other words, the market is already looking at the next decision before it even happens.

Silver also fell, falling 2.40% in the December contract, at US$52.380 per troy ounce, according to the same source. When comparing the two metals, silver's movement was stronger than gold's in the session.

What is at stake goes beyond metals. The trajectory of American interest rates influences the cost of capital, the flow into risky assets and the exchange rate of the dollar, variables that weigh on stock exchanges, Nasdaq and emerging markets. For those who defend fiscal responsibility and predictability in the conduct of monetary policy, the central point is that each signal from the central bank is immediately read by prices.

What changes for the investor

For those who invest and operate the stock market, Nasdaq, interest rates and the dollar, the message is that American monetary policy remains a central variable in price formation. A signal of tightening tends to weigh on interest-sensitive assets and raise attention on the dollar, while inflation data and Fed statements gain weight. It is worth monitoring the reaction of metals and indices to upcoming meetings, without drawing conclusions from a single session.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.