Gold touched its lowest level since October 2025 on Thursday as rising oil prices and hawkish Federal Reserve comments reinforced concern that U.S. rates could stay high, Reuters reported.
Reuters placed spot gold at $3,880.93 per troy ounce, down 2.7%, at 1:53 p.m. ET on Nov. 12. December U.S. gold futures settled 2.9% lower at $3,885.30 an ounce.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said consumer prices increased 0.4% in October from September, easing from September’s 0.6% rise. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3%, matching the monthly increases in August and September. The agency said it could not provide year-over-year changes for most CPI series because it lacked October 2025 survey data after a lapse in appropriations.
Before those figures were released, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher J. Waller said in a Nov. 10 speech that he would support a 25-basis-point increase in December if inflation improved as he expected. He said core CPI around 0.3% or higher would mean “a 50 basis point hike in the policy rate should be considered at the December meeting.” The BLS later reported October core CPI rose 0.3%.
With no yield of its own, gold can lose relative appeal as rates rise. Reuters also linked Thursday’s pressure to concern that more expensive energy could sustain inflation and keep rates elevated.
The BLS scheduled its October Producer Price Index report, a measure of prices received by producers, for Friday, Nov. 13, at 8:30 a.m. ET (13:30 UTC). FXStreet cited forecasts of 6.6% year-over-year growth for headline PPI and 5.0% for the core measure; those were estimates, not official BLS results. The report is due before the Federal Reserve’s next scheduled policy meeting, set for Dec. 8-9.
