Gold dropped nearly 2% on June 23, sliding to a two-week low as the US dollar flexed to levels not seen since May 2025. The culprit: a Federal Reserve that suddenly looks a lot more interested in raising rates than anyone expected a week ago.
Spot gold traded between $4,067 and $4,124 per ounce during the session, while US gold futures for August delivery settled down roughly 1.3% at $4,149.40 per ounce.
The Fed’s hawkish turn changes the math
Here’s the thing about gold: it doesn’t pay you anything to hold it. No yield, no dividends, no staking rewards. When interest rates are low or falling, that’s fine, because nothing else pays much either. But when the Fed starts talking about hiking rates, suddenly Treasury bonds and savings accounts look a lot more attractive by comparison.
The latest FOMC meeting delivered exactly that kind of shift. Under new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, roughly half of the committee’s policymakers signaled a possible rate increase later this year. That’s a meaningful hawkish pivot from an institution that had been widely expected to hold steady or even cut.
