Gold prices witnessed a noticeable decline at the end of trading on Thursday, October 29, 2026, against the backdrop of the issuance of decisions by the Federal Reserve (the US Central Bank), despite keeping interest rates unchanged.
Gold fell in spot transactions by 1.1%, reaching $4,024.22 per ounce, while US futures contracts for December delivery fell by 0.4%, recording $4,035.90 per ounce.
This decline came after the markets read the decision to stabilize interest rates as a temporary pause and not a shift towards monetary easing. The Federal Reserve kept the interest rate range between 3.75% and 4%, confirming the continued inflationary pressures. The decision was issued by a majority of 10 votes, against the objection of two members: Board of Governors Member Lisa Cook, and Beth Hammack, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, who called for a rate hike of 0.25 percentage points.
The tone of the statement indicated continued concern about inflation and opened the door to the possibility of monetary tightening again, especially with the Fed indicating that economic activity expanded at a strong pace and the stability of the labor market, which prompted investors to reduce their bets on a decline in the cost of borrowing and raised expectations of raising interest at the December meeting to more than 80%.
This decline comes in light of the sensitivity of gold prices to the future interest rate. High interest increases the opportunity cost of holding the precious metal compared to other yield-generating instruments.
As gold approaches the $4,000 per ounce barrier, the yellow metal is entering a critical phase whose path will be determined based on its ability to hold above this level and the release of upcoming inflation data, amid analysts’ assurances that this decline does not mean the end of the long-term upward trend as much as it reflects the impact of short-term interest expectations. In the local context of the Egyptian market, consumers are advised to follow the price of the ounce and the exchange rate of the dollar side by side, and compare manufacturing fees and resale policies of merchants in light of continuing global fluctuations.
