{"id":66283,"date":"2026-08-10T15:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T19:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/fed-official-hammack-signals-rate-hikes-as-crude-and-silver-surge\/66283\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T15:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T19:08:14","slug":"fed-official-hammack-signals-rate-hikes-as-crude-and-silver-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/fed-official-hammack-signals-rate-hikes-as-crude-and-silver-surge\/66283\/","title":{"rendered":"Fed Official Hammack Signals Rate Hikes as Crude and Silver Surge"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack<\/strong> warns that the current interest rate is not &quot;meaningfully restricting&quot; the economy and signaled that <strong>multiple rate hikes<\/strong> may be necessary to combat persistent inflation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Brent Crude futures<\/strong> surged <strong>4.99% to settle at $87.72 a barrel<\/strong>, driven by continued uncertainty over the reopening of the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> amid the ongoing Iran conflict.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Spot <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/metal\/silver\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"silver price today\">silver<\/a> prices<\/strong> jumped more than <strong>3% to $65.53 an ounce<\/strong>, as investors sought hedges against &quot;broadening&quot; inflation and a potential return to hawkish Fed policy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>President Trump<\/strong> extended the <strong>Jones Act waiver<\/strong> for another 90 days to facilitate oil and commodity movement between U.S. ports, though the new order requires <strong>case-by-case approval<\/strong> for each voyage.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/sp500\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/SPY\">SPY<\/a>)<\/strong> remained largely flat on Monday, as a rally in the <strong>energy sector<\/strong> was offset by weakness in <strong>technology<\/strong> ahead of Wednesday&#39;s critical Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Fed\u2019s Hammack Urges Decisive Action on Rates<\/h2>\n<p>Cleveland Federal Reserve President <strong>Beth Hammack<\/strong> delivered a series of hawkish remarks on Monday, asserting that the central bank must &quot;stand behind its words with actions.&quot; Hammack, who dissented at the July FOMC meeting, stated that she does not see inflation cooling on its own and emphasized that the <strong>job market remains resilient<\/strong> despite recent mixed data.<\/p>\n<p>Hammack argued that the current benchmark rate is failing to curb economic activity effectively, suggesting that the Fed may need &quot;some number&quot; of additional hikes. While she declined to specify the exact terminal rate, she noted that <strong>financial markets should be a complement<\/strong> to Fed policy rather than a substitute, urging the committee to act sooner rather than later to prevent price pressures from becoming entrenched.<\/p>\n<h2>Energy and Commodities Surge Amid Geopolitical Tension<\/h2>\n<p>The energy market saw significant volatility as <strong>Brent Crude (<a href=\"\/stock\/BRENT\">BRENT<\/a>)<\/strong> climbed <strong>$4.17<\/strong> to finish at <strong>$87.72<\/strong>. The spike follows reports that negotiations to reopen the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> have reached an impasse, with Tehran demanding further U.S. concessions. This supply-side pressure has kept the &quot;geopolitical risk premium&quot; high, directly impacting domestic fuel costs.<\/p>\n<p>In the precious metals market, <strong>Spot Silver<\/strong> outperformed <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/metal\/gold\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"gold price today\">gold<\/a>, rising over <strong>3% to $65.53<\/strong>. Analysts at <em>Kitco<\/em> noted that the move reflects growing skepticism that inflation has peaked, particularly as <strong>energy-driven price shocks<\/strong> continue to ripple through the global supply chain.<\/p>\n<h2>Policy Shifts: Jones Act and Market Consolidation<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Trump Administration<\/strong> moved to mitigate rising fuel costs by extending the <strong>Jones Act waiver<\/strong> until mid-November. However, the extension is more restrictive than previous blanket exemptions, now requiring the <strong>Pentagon<\/strong> and <strong>Maritime Administration<\/strong> to approve individual voyages for foreign-flagged ships carrying oil, fertilizer, and other critical commodities.<\/p>\n<p>Equities markets showed little conviction on Monday, with the <strong>S&amp;P 500 (<a href=\"\/stock\/SPY\">SPY<\/a>)<\/strong> trading in a narrow 30-point range. While <strong>Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (<a href=\"\/stock\/XLE\">XLE<\/a>)<\/strong> gained on the back of rising crude, <strong>Tech<\/strong> and <strong>Defensive sectors<\/strong> lagged. Traders are largely sidelined as they await <strong>Wednesday&#39;s CPI data<\/strong>, which is expected to provide the next major catalyst for interest rate expectations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack warns that the current interest rate is not &quot;meaningfully restricting&quot; the economy and 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