Gold has eased below $3,950 an ounce after Fed Chair Powell warned a December cut is not a foregone conclusion, knocking market odds for another 25bp move and lifting the 10-year Treasury above 4%, which raises the financing cost of holding non-yielding bullion. That caution partly offsets the Fed’s 25bp reduction to a 3.75–4.00% target range and its decision to end balance sheet runoff in December, both of which trim real short rates and add liquidity that normally support precious metals. Official buying by central banks and renewed ETF accumulation have tightened available metal in exchange and official channels and provide a firm base under prices. Progress on a US-China trade framework has pared some safe-haven flows but has not erased the deeper drivers for gold such as persistent macro uncertainty and worries about currency debasement.