Gold Declines Amid Uncertainty Over Federal Policy.. Silver Shines with Record Gains

Gold prices experienced a slight decline during trading on Thursday, retreating from their highest levels in nearly a week, following the Federal Reserve's (the U.S. central bank) decision to cut interest rates on Wednesday amid a clear division among policymakers, which raised investors' confusion about the expected pace of monetary easing over the coming year.

Gold fell in spot trading by 0.2% to $4221.49 per ounce by 03:00 GMT, after earlier in the session hitting its highest level since December 5. Meanwhile, U.S. gold futures for February delivery rose by 0.6% to $4249.70 per ounce.

Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at "KCM Trade", commented on the performance saying: "Gold has been unable to advance after today's events.. as the Fed clarified that any further interest rate cuts would be limited and spaced out."

This limited decline comes after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut the interest rate by 25 basis points in a vote that showed a notable division, with six members of the Board of Governors opposing the decision in an unprecedented move. The accompanying statement indicated that borrowing costs would not see further cuts before clearer signs of a slowdown in the labor market and a decrease in inflation, which the statement described as "still somewhat high". Additionally, Fed Chair Jerome Powell avoided giving any hints about the timing of the next interest rate cut.

In a related context, silver continues to shine separately, achieving new record levels. Silver rose in spot transactions by 0.8% to $62.25 per ounce, after hitting a record level of $62.88 earlier in the session. Thus, the white metal's gains since the beginning of this year reach 113%, supported by strong industrial demand, declining inventories, and its inclusion in the list of critical minerals in the United States.

Regarding silver's performance, Ilia Spivak, head of global macroeconomic analysis at "Tasty Live", stated: "Silver has not paid much attention to external factors and has been rising independently.. and I see no signs of a potential decline."

As for other precious metals, platinum rose by 0.3% to $1660.50 per ounce, while palladium fell by 0.2% to $1479.70 per ounce.

The market is now awaiting U.S. jobs and inflation data for November, scheduled to be released next week, followed by a detailed report on economic growth for the third quarter, which is expected to provide critical indicators for future monetary policy expectations and movements in precious metals markets.