Fed rate outlook hammers gold prices as dollar firms
New York (Mar 24) Gold extended losses in New York on Monday, hurt by the strength of the US dollar amid speculation the Federal Reserve will end the bullion-friendly earlier than expected.
Spot gold dropped 1.34% at $1,317.48 an ounce as of 08:36 a.m. ET, pushing off further from a six-month high hit before the Fed chief Janet Yellen shocked the markets on Wednesday by hinting that US interest rates could rise sooner than had been expected earlier. The metal was hammered by the Fed`s surprise, falling 3.5% last week.
Spot Silver was down 0.86% at $20.11 an ounce
- Spot Platinum was up 0.10% at $1,435.62 an ounce
- Spot Palladium was up 0.61% at $793.70 an ounce
Platinum and palladium was the winning horses on the precious metals market on Monday, with prices hitting a two-and-a-half-year high amid ongoing tension over Ukraine risking to hit supply from Russia, the world’s top producer of palladium.
A miners` strike in South Africa boosted the metal as well, besides the launch this week of two palladium-backed exchange-traded funds in the strike-hit region, which with Russia, produces nearly 80% of the world`s output.
The dollar-denominated commodities as gold for example is still struck by strong wave of profit taking amid US policy expectations that gave the US a strong boost against its counterparts in the past few days.
The USIDX, which tracks the greenback versus a six-currency basket, was trading around 80.12 – easing from a session high of 80.09 ahead of US market buzz on Monday.
On the energy markets, oil futures rose amid tension over supplies with the increasing sanctions over Russia, the top exporter of oil to Europe.
Source: icn
