Gold extended losses on Wednesday, falling below $1,200 an ounce after US Federal Reserve minutes revealed an interest rate hike could take place as early as June, causing the dollar to turn higher. The March meeting concluded with the Fed opening the door to a June rate hike, and the minutes said that "several participants" went on record saying they expected upcoming economic data would warrant an initial rate increase that month.
Spot gold was down 0.8 percent at $1,199.30 an ounce at 2:34 pm EDT (1834 GMT). US gold for June delivery settled down $7.50 an ounce, or 0.6 percent, at $1,203.10. The market closed prior to the release of the Fed minutes.
"Perhaps the committee is slightly more hawkish than expected," said Tai Wong, director of base and precious metals trading for BMO Capital Markets in New York.
"The outlook for precious is now clouded as gold and silver have given up all of payrolls-related gains."
Spot gold climbed to its highest level since February 17 at $1,224.10 on Monday, after weaker-than-expected US nonfarm payrolls cooled prospects of an earlier interest rate move.
Spot silver was down 2.3 percent at $16.42 an ounce, while platinum slipped 1 percent to $1,159.50 an ounce and palladium lost 1.8 percent at $753 an ounce.
Comments
Comments are closed.