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 and dented the non-yielding metal’s appeal.
Spot gold down 0.5% at $1,626.49 per ounce by 12:26 p.m. ET (1626 GMT), after falling over 1% earlier, hitting its lowest since Sept. 28.
U.S. gold futures fell 1.2% to $1,630.30.
“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,” said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.
The U.S. central bank raised interest rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday as expected. Powell said it was “very premature” to think about pausing and that the peak for rates would likely be higher than previously expected.
Gold is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, as these increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, while boosting the dollar.
The dollar rose 1.3%, making gold more expensive for overseas investors. Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were close to their recent peak. [USD/] [US/]
“We could see further losses (in gold) towards the September lows and a possible break of the $1,600 level, if yields continue to rise,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
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.
Offering some respite to gold, data showed U.S. services industry grew at its slowest pace in nearly 2-1/2 years in October, suggesting the Fed’s rate hikes are slowing demand in the overall economy.
Spot silver rose 0.4% to $19.36 per ounce, platinum dropped 1.4% to $917.17, while palladium was down 2.9% to $1,801.00.
(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shinjini Ganguli)
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