United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on 8 February attributed recent volatility in the gold market to “unruly” Chinese traders and their tightening of margin requirements, Bloomberg reported.
“The gold move thing — things have gotten a little unruly in China. They’re having to tighten margin requirements. So gold looks to me kind of like a classical, speculative blowoff,” Bessent told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures programme.
He was asked about the recent volatility in gold prices — the record-breaking rally in precious metals, fueled by speculative buying, geopolitical turmoil and concern about the Federal Reserve’s independence, that abruptly reversed last week.
‘Dow indicates positive economic outlook’
Bessent also noted that the Dow's record high indicates a positive economic outlook ahead of midterm elections.
The turmoil helped lift the dollar to its first weekly gain since early January while the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 50,000 for the first time, reflecting investor optimism about the US economy and corporate earnings.
With midterm elections coming in November, Bessent cited the Dow Jones record as evidence the US economy is headed for an upward cycle that will benefit ordinary Americans.
‘Federal Reserve to move cautiously’
On Federal Reserve policy, Bessent said he expects the central bank to move cautiously in any effort to trim its balance sheet.
“I wouldn’t expect them to do anything quickly,” he said. “They’ve moved to the ample-regime policy, and that does require a larger balance sheet, so I would think that they’ll probably sit back, take at least a year to decide what they want to do.”
President Donald Trump’s nominee to become the next Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, “is going to be very independent, but mindful that the Fed is accountable to the American people,” Bessent said.
During a Senate hearing Thursday, Bessent told lawmakers it would be up to Trump whether to sue Warsh if he failed to lower interest rates as Trump prefers.
Pressed by Senator Elizabeth Warren, Bessent said the remark stemmed from a joke Trump made, defended Warsh’s qualifications and highlighted Trump’s expectation that the Fed nominee align with his views on interest rates.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
