Silver trims gains near $69 as Warsh delivers hawkish Fed tone

Silver pared some of its gains to trade around $69 an ounce on Friday as investors digested hawkish-leaning remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh.

In his first major speech since taking the chair in May, Warsh warned that inflation has not meaningfully slowed and said policymakers need to see clearer evidence that underlying price pressures are easing, otherwise the central bank still has “work to do.” He reiterated the Fed’s commitment to returning inflation to its 2% target, which he described as a “firm and fixed” goal, and said financial conditions are not currently restrictive.

His closely watched remarks offered greater clarity on his economic and policy views after criticism that his limited communication strategy had left markets with little guidance on the near-term outlook.

Following the speech, markets raised the probability of a September rate hike to near 50%, according to CME FedWatch, weighing on silver.