Jerome Powell Speech: Fed Chair Stuns Markets With Sustained Silence on Interest Rate Cuts

Key Insights:

• Fed Chair Jerome Powell maintained a hawkish stance on interest rates despite milder inflationary outlook.
• Powell did not announce his resignation during today’s speech.
• Crypto and Gold prices are still bullish despite visible divergent volatilities among the divergent asset classes.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave a speech earlier today at the “Integrated Review of the Capital Framework for Large Banks Conference.”

Many expected Powell to talk about the Fed’s decision regarding a potential rate cut. While the expectation is that Powell’s remarks on interest rates could trigger market volatility, his silence had a similar effect.

His speech comes amid rumors of the Fed Chair possibly announcing his resignation today.

Federal Reserve Not in a Hurry to Cut Rates

The crypto and financial markets viewed Powell’s speech as a significant economic event. They anticipate that the speech will offer clarity about the direction of the Fed’s monetary policy.

Recent economic data revealed inflation has soared 2.7% amid 2025 tariff pressures from US President Donald Trump.

Additionally, the 10-year Treasury yield was less than one basis point higher at 4.378%. The 2-year yield also came in flat at 3.852%. Similarly, the 30-year yield came in over one basis point higher at 4.95%.

These data suggested Powell might face continued calls for rate cuts, challenging his historical stance against premature easing. However, the market expectations were dampened regarding a potential rate cut.

In his speech, Jerome Powell chose to focus on technical issues (bank capital rules) and avoided talking about monetary policy.

His cautiousness suggests the Fed would likely maintain a higher interest rate in July to keep inflation in check.

According to FedWatch, the probability of no rate cuts in July has dropped from 42% to 35%.

Notably, rising real interest rate expectations have begun pressuring gold prices. The U.S. dollar index increased from 97.85 to 98.10, pushing Gold prices down to $3,385.

Uncertainty surrounding European and American tariffs, which become effective from August 1, 2025, further limited the downside for Gold.

Is Jerome Powell Resigning Soon?

Meanwhile, President Trump has persistently called for the resignation of Powell in the past few months. The President has criticized the Fed Chair over his reluctance to cut interest rates.

Trump also criticized Powell over the $2.5 billion renovation at the Fed’s almost 100-year-old Washington headquarters. President Trump said the Fed exceeded its budget, suggesting there could be fraud involved.

This conflict remains in focus for investors. Taking to the X platform, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Bill Pulte, hinted at Powell’s potentially announcing his resignation. However,  Pulte suggested that Powell’s resignation is unlikely to come during his today’s speech.

James Fishback, CEO of InvestAzoria, also commented that Jerome Powell would not announce a possible resignation soon.

He emphasized that the speech is the “opening remarks” at a bank regulatory conference, already on Powell’s calendar for two months.

Reaction from the Crypto Market

Some market participants have pointed out that the market usually faces a decline every time Powell speaks.

Contrary to expectations, the crypto market did not experience significant price volatility following the recent speech from Jerome Powell.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has soared 1.16% over the past 24 hours to trade at $119,446. The trading volume jumped 17% within the same timeframe to $76.4 billion. This rally indicates BTC investors are still actively accumulating the leading coin.

While BTC price remained relatively stable, Ethereum (ETH), the second-leading coin, saw a 2.3% decline. XRP, another top altcoin, also saw its price decrease slightly by 0.24% to $3.5.

As for Gold, the price peaked at $3,380, although a break above $3,405 would signal a bullish trend.

The options market shows $3,400 as a key battleground for bulls and bears.

On the technical front, the 4-hour RSI dropped from overbought to 52, signaling reduced short-term correction pressure.

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