Gold holds firm near record highs on geopolitics and Fed outlook

WH Sr. Adviser Hassett: Fed is way behind curve on rate cuts. WH Sr. Adviser Hassett: We'll see a return to 100k to 150k monthly job gains if GDP growth stays in 4% range. WH Sr. Adviser Hassett: Trump has lots of housing affordability plan options. He'll announce housing plan sometime in new year.

THE TRUMP RULE:The Financial News today was great — GDP up 4.2% as opposed to the predicted 2.5% (and this, despite the downward pressure of the recent Democrat Shutdown!) — But in the Modern Market, when you have good news, the Market stays even, or goes down, because Wall Street’s “heads” are wired differently than they used to be. In the old days, when there was good news, the Market went up. Nowadays, when there is good news, the Market goes down, because everybody thinks that Interest Rates will be immediately lifted to take care of “potential” Inflation. That means that, essentially, we can never have a Great Market again, those Markets from the time when our Nation was building up, and becoming great. Strong Markets, even phenomenal Markets, don’t cause Inflation, stupidity does! I want my new Fed Chairman to lower Interest Rates if the Market is doing well, not destroy the Market for no reason whatsoever. I want to have a Market the likes of which we haven’t had in many decades, a Market that goes up on good news, and down on bad news, the way it should be, and the way it was. Inflation will take care of itself and, if it doesn’t, we can always raise Rates at the appropriate time — But the appropriate time is not to kill Rallies, which could lift our Nation by 10, 15, and even 20 GDP points in a year — and maybe even more than that! A Nation can never be Economically GREAT if “eggheads” are allowed to do everything within their power to destroy the upward slope. We are going to be encouraging the Good Market to get better, rather than make it impossible for it to do so. We are going to see numbers that are far more natural, and far better, than they have ever been before. We are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! The United States should be rewarded for SUCCESS, not brought down by it. Anybody that disagrees with me will never be the Fed Chairman! TRUMP: INFLATION WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF OR WE CAN RAISE RATES Trump: `A Nation Can Never be Economically GREAT if 'Eggheads' Are Allowed to 'Destroy the Upward Slope'

This summary reflects discussions and deliberations by members of Governing Council in stage three of the Bank’s monetary policy decision-making process. This stage takes place after members have received all staff briefings and recommendations. Governing Council’s policy decision-making meetings began on December 5, 2025. The Governor presided over these meetings. Members in attendance were Governor Tiff Macklem, Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers and Deputy Governors Toni Gravelle, Sharon Kozicki, Nicolas Vincent, Rhys Mendes and Michelle Alexopoulos. Governing Council members began their deliberations by discussing global economic developments since the October Monetary Policy Report. Members agreed that the global economy was showing continued resilience in the face of US protectionism. In the United States, the absence of official data during the government shutdown clouded the picture. Available information suggested that strong consumer spending and investment in artificial intelligence had continued to support growth. Unemployment was relatively stable, although layoffs in the private sector had been increasing. Members discussed whether early indications of retail sales for Black Friday suggested US consumption could be boosted by more than usual for the holiday period. Rising equity prices was likely providing some support for consumer spending by wealthier households. Consumer price index (CPI) inflation in the United States had ticked up slightly in September, likely due to some pass-through of tariffs to consumer prices. Members noted that if the pass-through were to expand, there could be an upside risk to US inflation. In the euro area, growth now appeared stronger than anticipated in the October Report. The strength came largely from a boost in demand for services. Going forward, a surge in Chinese exports to the region could compete with local manufacturing and weigh on growth but increases in defence spending could offset these pressures. Growth in China was weighed down by weakness in ho BOC OFFICIALS AGREED IT'S UNCLEAR WHAT NEXT RATE MOVE WILL BE BOC OFFICIALS AGREED CANADIAN ECONOMY IS IN EXCESS SUPPLY BoC Governing Council Felt It Was Hard To Predict Whether Next Move Would Be A Hike Or A Cut - Agreed To Remain Cautious In Interpreting Data Given Recent Volatility - Prepared To Respond In Case Of A Major New Shock, Or Data Showing Economy And Inflation Diverting Materially…