Fed holds rates as gold and silver plunge on inflation concerns

The Federal Reserve voted 10-2 to hold interest rates steady this week, with Chair Walsh noting that inflation has remained above target for nearly six years. Two officials advocated for a 25-basis-point hike, and market data currently assigns a roughly 75% probability to a rate increase in December. Core personal consumption expenditures inflation rose 3.1% year-over-year in September, while third-quarter GDP grew at a 3.4% annualized rate.

Precious metals faced significant selling pressure as stronger economic data reinforced expectations of prolonged high rates. Spot gold closed Friday at $3,876.89 per ounce, down 6.7% for the month, while silver closed at $49.13 per ounce with a monthly decline exceeding 18%. Rising real yields continued to suppress prices for both metals.

U.S. tech stocks experienced concentrated selling as investors scrutinized AI capital expenditures and cash flow concerns. The Nasdaq fell 5.3% for October, its worst monthly performance since March 2025, while Intel posted its worst single-day decline since 1974. Apple reclaimed the position of the world's most valuable publicly traded company with a market capitalization of $5.03 trillion, surpassing NVIDIA.

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