Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
Gold futures cemented their worst two-month decline in recorded history on Thursday, a stunning reversal for a metal that had been trading near all-time highs. The selloff reflects a broader shift in risk appetite, though some analysts maintain that structural demand from central banks and inflation hedging could still push prices significantly higher over a multi-year horizon.
Turning to currency markets, the dollar index fell nearly one percent to a one-and-a-half-week low after Japan moved aggressively to defend the yen. The Nikkei reported that Tokyo and the Bank of Japan conducted coordinated yen-buying operations, triggering a two percent rally in the Japanese currency and putting fresh pressure on the greenback at a time when dollar sentiment is already fragile.
And the Federal Reserve remains in the political crosshairs. With Jerome Powell signaling he intends to serve out his term, analysts are watching whether that posture hardens the standoff with the White House. One market observer put it plainly — there is a difference between institutional independence and deliberately antagonizing an administration that has made the Fed a political target.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
