Gold prices fall as dollar strengthens and default risks rise

Last Update: May 24, 2023, 23:43 IST

FILE PHOTO: A saleswoman shows gold bangles to a customer at a jewelery showroom on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, a major gold shopping festival, in Kolkata, India May 3, 2022. (Image: Reuters)

Spot gold was down 0.8% at $1,959.29 an ounce as of 12:22 p.m. ET (1622 GMT) on Wednesday, having risen 0.5% earlier.

Gold slips as dollar strengthens, rising risk of US debt default drags some safe-haven flows into bullion as talks enter a crucial stretch while investors await minutes of Federal Reserve’s recent policy meeting .

Spot gold was down 0.8% at $1,959.29 an ounce at 12:22 a.m. ET (1622 GMT) on Wednesday, having risen 0.5% earlier. US gold futures fell 0.7% to $1,961.40.

The dollar index rose to a two-month high, buoyed by demand for greenback-priced bullion. [USD/]

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen maintained early June as the debt ceiling default deadline, while negotiators from Democratic President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy renegotiated to try to close a deal.

“Overwhelmingly, the debt limit headlines are … but there is some signal in the noise,” said Daniel Ghali, commodities strategist at TD Securities.

“Gold rallied in the previous session despite headwinds from a rising broad dollar, indicating significant proximate demand,” Ghali said.

Wall Street’s main indexes declined as the debt ceiling impasse kept investors on edge. [.N]

Edward Gardner, commodities economist at Capital Economics, said gold could fall further if regional US banking problems subside and an agreement on the debt ceiling is reached.

The hiking campaign is unlikely to be over after Fed Governor Christopher Waller said it may be possible to skip an interest rate hike at the US central bank’s meeting next month.

Bullion was hovering above the 1-1/2-month low touched last week as higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-bearing gold.

The minutes of the Fed’s May 2-3 meeting are due at 2 p.m. ET, when the central bank raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by a quarter percentage point to a range of 5%-5.25%.

Spot silver fell 1.6% to $23.06 an ounce, while platinum fell 2.6% to $1,020.80. Palladium fell 3.2% to a two-month low of $1,400.15.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – reuters,