Anyone else watching the Fed & seriously concerned about gold's direction?

• •Bought in pretty strong when things looked like they were cooling off, thinking it was a solid hedge against inflation and general uncertainty.
• •We're talking probably 10-15% of my total retirement portfolio, so a chunky piece of change for what’s meant to be a stable asset.
• •Lately, though, with all the Fed signaling around rates and QT winding down, I'm finding myself a lot more anxious about gold's immediate future.

I've been holding physical gold in my IRA for a couple of years now, ever since I started seriously diversifying outside of tech stocks after the last major market jitters. Bought in pretty strong when things looked like they were cooling off, thinking it was a solid hedge against inflation and general uncertainty. We're talking probably 10-15% of my total retirement portfolio, so a chunky piece of change for what’s meant to be a stable asset.

Lately, though, with all the Fed signaling around rates and QT winding down, I'm finding myself a lot more anxious about gold's immediate future. I always understood the inverse relationship – higher rates, stronger dollar, tougher for gold. But with so much noise about potential rate cuts coming if the economy cools, or if inflation really gets under control, it's feeling less like a clear path and more like walking through a minefield. Especially living in San Francisco, where everything is already ridiculously expensive, I’m relying on these assets to hold their value.

My original thesis was long-term capital preservation and a hedge against systemic risk. But watching the daily swings based on every single Fed governor's offhand comment is making me question if I’m overexposed to this specific volatility. Am I overthinking this short-term noise, or are other investors here genuinely worried about how Fed policy is going to play out for precious metals in the next 12-18 months? Any data points or insights beyond the usual "gold goes up during inflation" mantra would be seriously appreciated.

Specifically, for those of you who've been through a few Fed cycles: how much weight do you put on their messaging vs. actual economic data when planning your gold strategy? And are you adjusting your allocations based on the potential for cuts later this year, or just holding firm?