1. Federal Reserve officials gather in Jackson Hole, Wyo., this week for their 43rd annual economic policy symposium. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and his central bank colleagues face a dilemma: hold interest rates steady in September on account of mild rising inflation, or lower rates thanks to weaker job market reports. The latest government jobs report showed a weaker reading on the labor market, with just 73,000 jobs added in July and with downward revisions to the prior two months, bringing the three-month average employment gain down to 35,000. Following the July policy meeting, Chairman Powell reiterated that more time is needed to assess how tariffs will affect the path of inflation and the strength of the economy. Markets are pricing in a rate cut for the next policy meeting on Sept. 17, though odds have receded slightly in recent days following a hotter-than-expected report on wholesale prices.
2. Gold and silver continue to trade in tight ranges as traders await the next catalyst for price action. For gold, this uncertainty combined with a summer holiday market, has translated into a stand-off, resulting in a range bound market which for the last three months has seen the price pivoting around USD $3,350, underpinned by steady investment demand,” he said. “Silver, too, has lacked momentum, with industrial demand and structural deficits, together with strong underlying technicals offering support, but with speculative longs showing reduced appetite to press the upside in the absence of a fresh driver.” Hansen said investors looking for a potential trigger have now shifted their focus to U.S. monetary policy and the dollar. “Several developments could provide the spark needed to break the current stalemate,” he said. And finally, for silver in particular, “stronger-than-expected Chinese policy support or upside surprises in solar installations could highlight the structural deficit and tighten balances further.”
3. A gauge of U.S. homebuilder sentiment fell unexpectedly in August, slipping back to its lowest level in more than two-and-a-half years, with more than a third of residential construction firms cutting prices and roughly two-thirds of them offering some form of incentive to lure buyers sidelined by still-high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell to 32, matching the lowest reading since December 2022, from 33 in July, the association said on Monday. Economists polled had expected the sentiment score to improve to 34.
4. U.S. stocks slid on Wednesday continuing a bruising stretch for tech stocks, as investors weighed the latest retail earnings and waited for Federal Reserve minutes to provide clues to interest-rate cuts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up off less than 0.1%, while the S&P 500 slipped about 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the losses, declining more than 1.2%. After a nearly 10% drop on Tuesday, Palantir fell another 5% in early trade. Meanwhile AI chip leaders Nvidia and Broadcom each fell more than 2%. The tech-led selloff has put markets on edge, as investors rotate out of riskier stocks into previously lagging sectors amid concerns about the AI boom’s staying power.
5. The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits rose by the most in about three months last week in an initial signal that layoffs may be picking up and adding to signs the labor market is weakening. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits climbed 11,000 – the largest increase since late May – to a seasonally adjusted 235,000 for the week ended August 16, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecasted 225,000 claims for the latest week.
6. West Texas Intermediate advanced to trade near $64 a barrel after Powell’s highly anticipated prepared remarks were more dovish than some investors anticipated. The comments boosted risk assets such as equity markets and oil to intraday highs while the dollar weakened. “The oil market is heading for a surplus in coming quarters that is both unusually large but also unusually well-anticipated by now,” Morgan Stanley analysts including Martijn Rats and Charlotte Firkins wrote in a note. “The former suggests prices will likely weaken; the latter suggests this is unlikely to turn into a disorderly sell-off.”
7. EUR/USD resumes its downward bias on Thursday, retreating to multi-day troughs and putting the 1.1600 support to the test. The pair’s pullback comes on the back of the marked data-led rebound in the dollar prior to the key speech by Chief Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday.
8. The U.S. Dollar accelerated its recovery against a weaker Japanese Yen on Friday. USD/JPY’s rebound from Wednesday’s lows right below 146.90 has extended to levels near 147.65 although, from a broader perspective, the pair maintains a choppy and volatile behavior, ranging between 146.70 and 148.00.
The two Federal Reserve policymakers who dissented against the U.S. central bank decisions to leave interest rates unchanged last month appear not to have been joined by other policymakers in voicing support for lowering rates at that meeting, a readout of the gathering released on Wednesday showed. ‘Almost all participants viewed it as appropriate to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.25% to 4.50% at this meeting,’ the minutes of the July 29-30 meeting said. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller both voted against the decision to leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged, favoring instead a quarter-percentage-point reduction to guard against further weakening of the job market. It was the first time since 1993 that more than one Fed governor dissented against a rate decision.
U.S. stocks soared today as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell opened the door for a September rate cut during his highly anticipated speech at Jackson Hole. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 2%, touching a record intraday high, while the S&P 500 moved up about 1.6%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.9%. Friday’s surge came on the heels of a downbeat week for stocks, as tech stocks were beaten up by AI trade doubts. Fed Chairman Powell opened the possibility of the central bank lowering interest rates in September on Friday, saying in his speech that “the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance.” His remarks shook up rate-cut bets, which had been waning after a weak monthly jobs report. Traders on Friday were pricing in about 91.5% odds of a September cut compared to 70% earlier in the morning and 85% a week ago.
Sales of previously owned U.S. homes ticked unexpectedly higher in July, but the pace of sales remains sluggish amid affordability issues for buyers thanks to high house prices and interest rates on mortgages. Home sales rose 2.0% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.01 million units from 3.93 million in June. Economists polled had forecasted home resales would be essentially unchanged from June at 3.92 million units. Sales edged up 0.8% on a year-over-year basis. The average rate on a 30-year-fixed rate mortgage recently fell to the lowest level since last fall at 6.58%, according to data from Freddie Mac, but rates remain appreciably higher than they were coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Volatility should be expected to remain high as investors will be closely watching for hints on the upcoming monetary policy direction. Many investors have redoubled their efforts to ensure that their portfolios are sufficiently diversified in the hope that they will be able to withstand corrections in multiple market sectors. Many of these investors have included physical precious metals as part of their diversification plans, given their long history as a hedge against both inflation and during times of economic turmoil. Remember, the key to profitability through the ownership of physical precious metals is to own the physical product and hold it for the long term. Always remember that you should never overextend your ability to maintain ownership of your precious metals over the long run.
Trading Department – Precious Metals International Ltd.
Friday to Friday Close (New York Closing Prices)
| Aug. 15, 2025 | Aug. 22, 2025 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $3,336.14 | $3,374.45 | 38.31 | 1.15% |
| Silver | $37.98 | $39.02 | 1.04 | 2.74% |
| Platinum | $1,342.39 | $1,365.56 | 23.17 | 1.73% |
| Palladium | $1,120.20 | $1,132.95 | 12.75 | 1.14% |
| Dow | 44946.12 | 45631.74 | 685.62 | 1.53% |
Previous Year Comparison
| Aug. 23, 2024 | Aug. 22, 2025 | Net Change | ||
| Gold | $2,510.97 | $3,374.45 | 863.48 | 34.39% |
| Silver | $29.79 | $39.02 | 9.23 | 30.98% |
| Platinum | $962.58 | $1,365.56 | 402.98 | 41.86% |
| Palladium | $963.90 | $1,132.95 | 169.05 | 17.54% |
| Dow | 41174.89 | 45631.74 | 4456.85 | 10.82% |
Here are your Short-Term Support and Resistance Levels for the upcoming week.
| Gold | Silver | |
| Support | 3356/3308/3281 | 38.08/37.41/36.81 |
| Resistance | 3383/3432/3458 | 39.35/39.95/40.25 |
| Platinum | Palladiumn | |
| Support | 1338/1303/1268 | 1131/1097/1077 |
| Resistance | 1373/1408/1443 | 1150/1184/1204 |