Fed Holds at 3.75%-4% on 10-2 Vote; Cook and Hammack Dissent
The Fed held at 3-3/4 to 4 percent on Oct. 28 with Cook and Hammack dissenting for a hike. Speculators were net long 15,044 DXY contracts before the vote.
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The Federal Open Market Committee left its target range for the federal funds rate at 3.75 to 4 percent on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in a 10-2 vote. The Federal Reserve said in its statement that "The Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3-3/4 to 4 percent, in support of the Federal Reserve's dual mandate." The full text is in the Fed's FOMC statement.
Two members dissented, and both wanted a higher rate. The statement said "Voting against the monetary policy action were Lisa D. Cook and Beth M. Hammack, who preferred to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point at this meeting."
On the economy, the Fed said "Economic activity is expanding at a strong pace." It added that "Job gains have kept pace with the workforce, and the unemployment rate has changed little." On prices, the statement said "Inflation remains elevated," and that "The accumulation of more information will help the Committee determine the policy stance appropriate to ensure a timely return of inflation to the Committee's 2 percent goal." It closed that section with the sentence "The Committee will deliver price stability." The Committee also said it is continuing its policy of maintaining ample reserves in the banking system.
The Commitments of Traders report is published weekly by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It shows futures positions held by groups of large traders as of Tuesday, usually released the following Friday. The latest figures are as of Oct. 20 and were released on Oct. 23, so they were held before the Oct. 28 statement. The 3-year COT index places the latest net position within its range over the past 3 years, where 0 is the lowest net position in that window and 100 the highest.
In US Dollar Index (DXY) futures, large speculators (non-commercial) were net long 15,044 contracts, up from 12,919 the week before. The 2,125-contract change was equal to 4.3% of open interest, and the 3-year COT index stood at 81. The 3-year high for the group was a net long of 22,499 contracts on Aug. 4, 2026, and the low was a net short of 16,347 on Nov. 25, 2025. The index measures the dollar against a fixed basket that includes the euro and the yen.
Large speculators were net short 964,293 contracts in 10-year Treasury note futures, against a net short of 988,102 a week earlier. The 3-year COT index was 21. The 3-year range for that group runs from a net short of 1,143,889 contracts on Oct. 1, 2024, to a net short of 307,692 on June 11, 2024.
Managed money held a net long of 104,206 contracts in COMEX gold futures, down 2,883 from 107,089 the previous week, with a 3-year COT index of 38. The group's 3-year high was 219,029 contracts on Sept. 24, 2024, and its low was 34,176 on Feb. 13, 2024.
Gold (XAU/USD) was at 4,019.96 as of 12:03 UTC on Oct. 29.
Written by a large language model from primary sources linked in the article: AlphaScala's structured filing data (SEC Form 4 / STOCK Act / 13F / CFTC records) or an official release (central bank, BLS, EIA or SEC). Every figure is checked automatically against those sources before publication. Not investment advice.