The morning briefing from Chapman Gold: what moved the gold market and why it matters. Prices in the banner above are live.
Warsh turns hawkish at Jackson Hole and gold gives back its gains
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh used his first Jackson Hole address to say that inflation is not meaningfully slowing, and that policymakers need confidence that underlying price pressures are easing before the Fed can consider its work done (Yahoo Finance). Markets responded by lifting the odds of a September rate increase towards evens, and gold, which pays no interest, sold off into the close of the week (Kitco News).
Spot gold starts the week in the mid $4,400s
After trading near $4,590 an ounce on Thursday, spot gold was quoted around $4,445 following the speech, and the live spot price stood at $4,467.20 an ounce on 29 August (Kitco News, JM Bullion). FXStreet reports gold trading near $4,445 at the start of this week as September rate expectations firm. Rates quoted by different providers varied through Friday as the market moved quickly, so treat any single print with care.
A three month high on Tuesday, then a reversal
The week was not a straight line down. International spot gold peaked at about $4,677 an ounce on Tuesday, its highest since mid May, before falling away through the second half of the week (Yahoo Finance). By Friday the metal was down roughly 2.4 per cent over the week.
Central banks bought a record 289 tonnes in the second quarter
The World Gold Council puts net central bank purchases at 288.9 tonnes in the second quarter of 2026, a quarterly record and worth about $47.4bn at current prices, taking first half buying to 345 tonnes. Poland led with 51 tonnes and China added 33 tonnes. Notably, the buying happened while prices were falling from their January highs, which is the pattern of an institution accumulating rather than trading.
The debasement trade is still doing the heavy lifting
Earlier in the month the US Treasury's expanded bond buyback plans pushed the dollar to multi month lows and bullion rose more than 5 per cent in a week, with a weaker dollar making gold cheaper for buyers outside the United States (CNBC). Concern about US debt sustainability, rather than any single data print, remains the structural story underneath the price.
India: imports at a ten month high going into the festive season
The World Gold Council's latest India update, titled Recovery taking shape, reports gold imports at a ten month high in August, with jewellers replenishing stock and manufacturers seeing higher order flows ahead of the festive season. Consumers appear to have treated the summer price dip as a buying opportunity, with deferred purchases returning and demand broadening beyond wedding jewellery.
The Week in Gold
Gold ended the week of 25 to 29 August down about 2.4 per cent, giving back the gains that dollar weakness and the Treasury buyback story had delivered earlier in the month. The high came on Tuesday at roughly $4,677 an ounce, the best level since mid May, and the turn came on Friday with Warsh's Jackson Hole remarks, which revived expectations of a September rate rise. Ahead this week: US payrolls are the next major test, and a soft number would take pressure off the September meeting and, on recent form, put a floor back under the metal. For the trade, the more durable signal remains official sector demand, which set a quarterly record while private investors were selling.
Sources: Kitco News, Yahoo Finance, CNBC, FXStreet, JM Bullion, World Gold Council. Compiled 31 August 2026. Nothing here is investment advice; it is the news, read with a jeweller's eye. For what the market means in real terms, see The Gold Price, where the world is priced in gold.