Story perspectives

Gold jumps 0.4% as dollar weakens and buybacks surge

8/27/2026

Summary

Gold Rebounds

Spot gold rose 0.4% to $4,607.90 per ounce on Thursday.
A weaker U.S. dollar and Treasury buybacks of long-dated bonds helped lift gold.
The metal rebounded after a 1.4% drop the previous day, the week’s biggest one-day decline.
July personal consumption expenditures price index rose 3.7% year-on-year, unchanged from June.
The CME FedWatch Tool showed a 34%–40% chance of a September hike and 74% chance by December.

Summary

Central Banks Buying

Central banks bought about 863 tonnes of gold in 2025, with Poland leading purchases.
89 percent of reserve managers expect global gold holdings to increase within the next year.
Nearly 75 percent forecast the U.S. dollar’s share of global reserves will fall within five years.
Over 90 percent of wholesale gold trades settle through unallocated “Loco London” accounts lacking term-structure.
OMFIF’s gold working group says gold lacks transparent pricing and financing for collateral use.

History

Historical Context

After the 1944 Bretton Woods pact fixed the dollar to gold at $35 an ounce, mounting Vietnam-war deficits and the 1968 London Gold Pool collapse left U.S. reserves depleted. President Richard Nixon’s August 15 1971 “Nixon Shock” closed the gold window, and the December Smithsonian Agreement devalued the dollar to $38/oz (-7.9%). Today spot gold trades above $4,600, reflecting the system’s lasting impact.

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Gold Rebounds

Spot gold rose 0.4% to $4,607.90 per ounce on Thursday.
A weaker U.S. dollar and Treasury buybacks of long-dated bonds helped lift gold.
The metal rebounded after a 1.4% drop the previous day, the week’s biggest one-day decline.
July personal consumption expenditures price index rose 3.7% year-on-year, unchanged from June.
The CME FedWatch Tool showed a 34%–40% chance of a September hike and 74% chance by December.

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