By Arundhati Sarkar
(Reuters) – Gold prices on Friday were on track for their biggest weekly loss since February, as prospects of additional interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve this year supported the dollar, pushing zero-yield bullion to an over three-month low.
Spot gold ticked down 0.1% to $1,911.32 per ounce by 0246 GMT, and was down 2.4% for the week. U.S. gold futures edged lower 0.1% to $1,921.20.
The dollar index held firm, set for a weekly gain, making gold less attractive for overseas investors.
“Gold has extended lower out of the range that it was occupying for a few weeks, suggesting there is more weakness ahead. The decline matches up with the upshift in yields, reflecting hawkish comments from Powell & Fed officials more generally,” Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his second day of testimony said the U.S. central bank would move interest rates at a “careful pace” from here as policymakers edge towards a stopping point for their historic round of monetary policy tightening.
Separately, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said at an event that “additional policy rate increases” will be needed to control inflation.
Higher interest rates dull bullion’s appeal and investors now expect the Fed to resume its monetary tightening policy in July, after holding rates steady at the June meeting.
U.S. jobless claims, meanwhile, held steady at a 20-month high last week, potentially signalling a softening labour market in the face of the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes.
Spot silver fell 0.5% to $22.1238 per ounce, platinum shed 0.4% to $919.23.
Palladium was down 0.3% at $1,280.14 after hitting its lowest since May 2019 in the previous session.
“Palladium seems to be following along with broader trends. It has a little bit more of an industrial profile than gold so expectations for a global downturn engineered by hawkish central banks might add to downside pressure,” Spivak added.
(Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
