Fed Continues Tough Talk; Silver & Platinum Look Most Undervalued

Welcome to this week’s Market Wrap Podcast, I’m Mike Gleason.

As central bankers stubbornly refuse to admit they are done hiking interest rates, precious metals markets are wavering.

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate unchanged at a 22-year high at the conclusion of its meeting last week. But Fed chairman Jerome Powell is keeping up the fight against inflation, at least rhetorically.

Speaking Thursday before the International Monetary Fund, Powell suggested more tightening may ultimately be necessary to get inflation down to 2%.

Markets interpreted Powell’s remarks as hawkish in a shift from the dovish tone he conveyed in last week’s policy meeting. Hawkish or dovish, bullish or bearish, many investors are just fed up with the Fed moving markets on a daily basis.

CNBC’s Brian Sullivan gave voice to some of those frustrations:

"Brian Sullivan (CNBC): I don't want the market to be controlled by the Federal Reserve. I wish the Federal Reserve would just do their job in the background. Nobody could even name a Fed Chairman 30 years ago. Just do your stuff, be the grease in the wheels, the motor that nobody sees. We're living and dying on every Fed change of language."

Unfortunately, CNBC doesn’t give voice to fundamental critiques of the fiat monetary system.