Gold and silver retreat ahead of Fed minutes as dollar firms

Gold and silver fell on July 7 as investors cut exposure before the Federal Reserve's June meeting minutes, with a firmer U.S. dollar and higher Treasury yields weighing on bullion after a recent rally.

U.S. gold futures for August delivery settled down $10.10, or 0.2%, at $4,157.40 an ounce, according to Briefing.com. Earlier in the global session, Reuters reported August futures down 0.4% at $4,149.90, while spot gold fell 0.6% to $4,138.32 an ounce. Market snapshots during Asian trading showed a similar move, with spot gold down 0.4% and futures off 0.2%.

Silver weakened more. Reuters reported spot silver down 1% at $61.48 an ounce, while other early readings showed a decline of about 0.8%. By midday in the U.S., USA Today cited spot silver at $60.72, down just over 3% on the day, a more volatile session than in gold.

The immediate driver was positioning before the release of minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's June 16-17 meeting, due on July 8. Investors are looking for clues on how Chair Kevin Warsh and the committee are weighing inflation, growth and the path of interest rates after softer recent labor data tempered expectations for near-term tightening.

The dollar added pressure. CNBC reported on July 6 that the U.S. dollar index rose 0.3%, making dollar-denominated bullion more expensive for overseas buyers. Higher yields were another headwind, since assets that pay no yield, such as gold, tend to lose appeal when rate expectations firm.

The retreat followed a rebound in precious metals earlier in July. Weaker U.S. jobs data had helped lift gold and silver by reducing the perceived odds of additional rate increases this year. According to figures cited by New Straits Times from the CME FedWatch Tool, traders were pricing about a 57% chance of a September rate increase, down from more than 60% before the jobs report.

That rebound came after a deeper correction from this year's extremes. Gold has retreated more than 25% from its 2026 record high, while silver remains far below its own peak, leaving both metals sensitive to changes in Fed expectations, real yields and energy-driven inflation risks.

Gold's decline on July 7 was modest and broadly consistent across futures and spot markets. Silver's larger intraday swings showed how quickly speculative positioning can reverse around Fed events. Those moves can feed through to gold and silver exchange-traded funds and to mining shares, which often amplify moves in the underlying metals.

Whether the pullback is a routine pause after a five-week rebound or an early sign the rally is losing momentum remains open. The Fed minutes are unlikely to settle that on their own, but they could reset expectations for rates, the dollar and yields, the main short-term drivers for bullion.