Gold Falls to 4-Week Low Amid Price Hike Jitters, Strong Greenback

PUBLISHED MON, APR 25 20226:21 AM EDTUPDATED MON, APR 25 20224:10 PM EDT

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A UBS Group AG branded one hundred gram gold bar arranged at Gold Investments Ltd. bullion dealers in London, U.K., on Thursday, March 17, 2022. Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Gold prices slipped to their lowest in four weeks on Monday as prospects of aggressive policy tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve and a stronger dollar dented the precious metal’s appeal.

Spot gold fell 1.66% to 1,897.65 per ounce while U.S. gold futures were 1.84% lower at $1,898.8.

 

“It seems that the fears about rate hikes have gotten the upper hand as of late,” said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.

With expectations for a half-percentage point interest rate hike at the Fed’s May meeting now locked in, traders on Friday piled into bets that the U.S. central bank will go even bigger in subsequent months in order to tame soaring inflation.

Gold is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates and higher yields, which increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, while boosting the dollar, in which it is priced. It is, however, seen as a safe store of value during economic and political crises.

“We have a three-month target of $1,850,” Menke said adding, “we have been of the opinion that gold is rather expensive as a safe haven asset.”

“We would think that the inflationary pressures are about to ease and that should take away some of the safe haven demand we’ve seen for gold.”

 

Rival safe haven, the dollar climbed to a level last seen in March 2020, making the greenback-priced gold costlier for other currency holders. Silver fell 2.2% to $23.61 per ounce after hitting an over two-month trough.

The behemoths of the Fed’s actions and the reduced growth outlook for China as it continues to be plagued by lockdowns, is outweighing silver’s medium-term attractions, Rupert Rowling, market analyst at Kinesis Money, said in a note.

Palladium fell about 9.6% to $2,1487.2 while platinum dipped about 1% to $920.99