Gold prices fell during these moments of trading, today, Monday, under pressure from the steadfastness of the dollar index, as investors evaluated the next course of interest rates after hawkish statements from policy makers in the US Federal Reserve.
The session is expected to be quiet today coinciding with the Juneteenth Day holiday, the anniversary of liberation from slavery, as US stock markets will be closed today.
Gold and the dollar now
Gold futures fell 0.22% to $1,966 an ounce.
While spot contracts fell by 0.17% to 1954 dollars an ounce.
On the other hand, the dollar index rose by 0.1% to 101.927 points.
gold at the settlement of trading on Friday
Gold prices rose slightly at the settlement of trading, on Friday, in conjunction with statements from members of the US Federal Reserve.
And the precious metal trimmed its gains made earlier in the session, after statements from US central bank officials indicated continued tightening of monetary policy to curb inflation.
Consumer confidence in the United States rose by 7.9% on a monthly basis, at 63.9 points in the preliminary reading for the month of June, compared to 59.2 points in May, which is more than expectations for an increase to 60.0 points.
Gold futures rose at the settlement, by a slight rate of 50 cents, to reach $ 1971.2 an ounce, after touching during the session $ 1980.40, to reduce its weekly losses at 0.3%.
Statements by members of the federation
Fed members Christopher Waller and Thomas Parkin said last Friday that the Fed needs to raise interest rates further to tame inflation.
Fed member Christopher Waller stressed during an economic conference in Norway, on Friday: that core inflation is not going to go down as I thought, and since it seems to be holding this will probably require more tightening to try to bring it down.
He added that although the US Federal Reserve pays attention to financial pressures in the banking sector when making monetary policy decisions, the main focus of the US Federal Reserve is still on achieving its two goals, which currently requires raising interest rates.
Meanwhile, Thomas Barkin, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board in Richmond, said that demand in the United States is weakening somewhat, as slowing demand is supposed to lead to a decline in inflation at its target, indicating that he should support the continuation of monetary tightening if the upcoming data does not support that.
Gold awaits the most important event this week, as investors are now awaiting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's testimonies before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday to get more signals about future interest rates.
gold to where?
“Gold for the majority of June has been hovering between $1,935 and $1,970, and with no clear catalyst in sight, investors prefer range trading and not fully commit to the breakout,” said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index.
Bullion posted a small weekly decline last week as traders ramped up their bets on a July rate hike after the hawkish Fed stalled after 10 consecutive increases.
Although gold is considered a hedge against inflation, raising interest rates raises the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.