By Seher Dareen
(Reuters) – Gold prices fell to a more than one-month low on Thursday as the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields jumped after hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on interest rate hikes dented the non-yielding metal’s appeal.
Spot gold fell 0.7% to $1,623.08 per ounce by 10:18 p.m. ET (1418 GMT) after hitting its lowest since Sept. 28 earlier. U.S. gold futures dropped 1.6% to $1,624.30.
“The reality is that people were expecting some dovish tilt (from the Fed), there was no dovish tilt. Inflation remains high globally … and the Fed is sticking to its mandate,” said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.
“I don’t see the tide turning for gold and it gathering bullish momentum again until after the Fed is done raising rates, probably not till March of 2023.”
The U.S. central bank raised interest rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday as expected. However, Powell said it was “very premature” to think about pausing and that the peak for rates would likely be higher than previously expected.
Following the Fed’s suit, the Bank of England raised interest rates to 3% on Thursday from 2.25%, its biggest rate rise since 1989.
Higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding gold.
The dollar gained 1.5% against its rivals, making gold more expensive for overseas investors. Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields climbed towards recent peak.
“With the dollar and yields surging higher gold and silver are at risk of resuming their downtrends with gold traders in particularly keeping a close eye on the $1,615 area,” said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen in a note.
Focus now shift to U.S. non-farm payrolls data for October due on Friday that could offer more clarity on the Fed’s rate-hike trajectory.
Spot silver edged 0.2% lower to $19.24 per ounce, platinum dropped 1.4% to $916.75 and palladium fell nearly 3% to $1,800.34.
(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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