Overview
- Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said the US central bank may still need to tighten policy and noted July personal consumption expenditures inflation was 3.7 percent, a message markets heard on Friday and that raised the chance of a September rate increase.
- Markets reacted by pushing the dollar and US Treasury yields higher, which reduces the appeal of gold and helped trigger a roughly 1.86 percent weekly drop in international bullion prices.
- Indian market data showed a pullback from early-week highs with IBJA and MCX figures placing 24‑carat at about Rs 1,59,578 per 10 grams on Friday while city retail rates stayed near Rs 1.61 lakh per 10 grams on August 29.
- Pakistan’s national jewellers’ association quoted 24‑karat gold unchanged at Rs 483,036 per tola and reported silver up to Rs 7,509 per tola, reflecting how local pricing, taxes, and making charges can separate consumer rates from global spot moves.
- Analysts said higher US rates and a stronger dollar are the main drivers of the selloff, but ongoing geopolitical risks and central‑bank or ETF buying can limit declines, and the market will watch September Fed signals for the next leg of moves.