The Federal Reserve's recent decision to give a quarter-point increase in the federal funds rate has sparked a surge in the prices of both gold and silver. The price of gold per ounce recently crossed the $2,000 mark, reaching $2,057, representing a 1.18% increase in the past 24 hours. Silver also experienced a 0.87% rise over the past day, and has risen by 6% in the past month, and 31.5% in the last six months. Alongside precious metals, crypto assets have also seen a similar surge, with Bitcoin (BTC) surpassing the $29K per unit range and Ethereum (ETH) reaching over $1,900.

Not long after the Federal Open Market Committee's decision to increase the benchmark bank rate on Wednesday, Fed chair Jerome Powell emphasised the central bank's commitment to controlling inflation levels, commenting that the assessment of imposing further policy tightening would be an ongoing process with each meeting.

The surge in values of both gold and silver alongside crypto-assets has generated much activity on social media, with users discussing the various changes in prices and the search term "how to buy gold" receiving a perfect score of 100 on Google Trends.

On the other hand, crude oil prices experienced a significant drop on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Nymex crude and the OPEC Reference Basket all recording losses during the day. This is likely due to the recent policy decisions taken by both Saudi Arabia and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to significantly cut production.

Overall, the Federal Reserve's recent decision to increase interest rates have had far-reaching impacts on commodities such as gold, silver and crypto-assets, as well as crude oil. The market volatility has generated active discussions on social media, with investors looking to take advantage of the various price changes. It’s yet to be seen whether these changes will be sustained in the coming days and weeks.



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