The price of gold fell slightly as traders looked for indicators of the Federal Reserve’s direction regarding interest rates, following the divisions that emerged during yesterday’s meeting, Wednesday, which testified to easing of monetary policy, and the absence of consensus among monetary policymakers on the interest rate path. Gold fell as much as 0.6% to barely breach the $4,204 an ounce level, after losing momentum in early Asian trade. Gold prices in China have fallen below international benchmarks in recent weeks, suggesting the world’s second-largest economy is putting downward pressure on the gold market after the latest rising wave. Treasury yields and the dollar also fell after the last Fed meeting of the year. Gold price and interest rate expectations: Although the US Federal Reserve maintained its expectation to make only one cut in 2026, it slightly changed the wording of its statement, suggesting a greater degree of uncertainty about future cuts. The Fed’s easing trend is positive for precious metals, which typically benefit from low interest rates because they don’t pay interest. Also read: International warning: Gold no longer protects against risks. Rather, it creates it. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9 to 3 opponents to cut the base interest rate by a quarter of a point to a range between 3.5% and 3.75%. The accommodative Fed is a positive factor for precious metals, which typically benefit in a low interest rate environment. “It’s a sense of relief, not euphoria,” said Sharov Shanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets in Singapore. “The 25 basis point cut and falling yields have been largely priced in, and the split in the vote prevents traders from pushing prices higher intraday,” she added. Gold is up more than 60% this year and silver has more than doubled, and both metals are on track for their best annual performance since 1979. Central bank purchases of gold The rise was supported by higher central bank purchases and investors abandoning sovereign bonds and currencies. Holdings of gold-backed exchange-traded funds have risen every month this year except May, according to the World Gold Council. “The widening of fiscal deficits, the stability of geopolitical risks, and the continued path of de-dollarization and central bank purchases are all factors that suggest the bull market has room to maneuver,” Shanana said. Also Read: Gold Not Losing Its Luster.. Central Banks Continue To Buy Amid Dollar Weakness. The central bank also announced it would begin buying $40 billion worth of Treasury bonds a month starting Friday in an effort to rebuild reserves in the financial system. These measures will increase overall liquidity in the market and support gold prices. Bolstering expectations that the next Federal Reserve chairman will be more lenient, President Donald Trump reiterated his view that interest rates should be much lower as the selection process nears its end. Gold was down 0.3% at $4,217.49 an ounce at 12:47 p.m. in London. Silver rose as much as 1.8% to hit a record high of $62.8863. Platinum rose, while palladium remained unchanged. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.