Update: Gold Moves Higher as the Dollar and Yields Plunge as Fed Chair Powell Indicates Rates Cuts are Coming

02:00 PM EDT, 08/22/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Gold prices rose midafternoon on Friday as the dollar fell sharply following a dovish speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicating the central bank is ready to begin lowering interest rates again.

Gold for December delivery was last seen up US$35.60 to US$3,417.20 per ounce, sticking within the narrow range it has mostly traded within since April.

The rise comes as Powell, in a morning speech at the Fed's annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Wyoming, noted inflation remains above the Fed's 2% target. He that, near-term, risks to inflation are tilted to the upside, and risks to employment to the downside. While he gave no indication a cut will come at the end of the next meeting of the Fed's policy committee, he signaled a change to the bank's stand-pat policy is coming.

"Our policy rate is now 100 basis points closer to neutral than it was a year ago, and the stability of the unemployment rate and other labor market measures allows us to proceed carefully as we consider changes to our policy stance. Nonetheless, with policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance," Powell said in the text of his speech.

The dollar plunged following the speech, with the ICE dollar index last seen 1.04 points to 97.58. Treasury yields were also sharply lower, with the yield on the two-year note last seen down 10.0 basis points to 3.694%, while the 10-year note was paying 4.262%, down 6.8% points.

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