PRECIOUS METALS | Fed Minutes Say Middle East Conflict Lifted Inflation; Many Central Banks Signaled Future Rate Hikes

The Federal Reserve’s minutes from its June meeting said global headline inflation has risen significantly since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict. According to Jin10, the minutes said retail energy prices and producer prices surged sharply across most of Europe and Asia. Some central banks, including the European Central Bank, raised policy interest rates in response to rising inflation. Overall, the minutes said most foreign central banks stressed that high inflation could trigger second-round pass-through effects and therefore needs to be eased. Despite weak economic output growth prospects, these central banks signaled they may raise interest rates in the future or slow the pace of easing.