Gold is unchanged on a stronger dollar as traders digest aggressive Fed comments

19 Jun 2023 , 11:47 AM

As the dollar remained stable as investors evaluated the future of interest rates in the wake of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s hawkish tone, gold prices barely altered on Monday.

Spot gold was unchanged at $1,956.93 per ounce. Futures for U.S. gold decreased 0.1% to $1,969.20.

The dollar index remained stable, which reduced the appeal of bullion for buyers using other currencies.

Fed policymakers adopted a hawkish stance in their initial remarks following the central bank’s decision last week to maintain the policy interest rate while also indicating that future rate hikes were probable.

According to the Fed’s most recent monetary policy report to Congress, inflation ‘remains elevated and has not shown signs of easing’ across significant segments of the U.S. service sector.

Although interest rate increases increase the opportunity cost of owning non-yielding bullion, gold is nevertheless seen as an inflation hedge.

According to the CME Fedwatch tool, traders are currently factoring in a possibility of a Fed rate hike in July of approximately 72%.

 Following their best week in five months, Asian shares began cautiously as investors awaited China’s rate decision and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony for hints on the future direction of interest rates.

Prior to a few months ago, the majority of investors worried about having too much exposure to stocks. Many people are now concerned that they may not have enough.

The largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund in the world, SPDR Gold Trust GLD, reported that its holdings increased by 0.47% to 934.03 tonnes on Friday from 929.70 tonnes on Thursday.

Due to the Juneteenth holiday, U.S. stock markets will be closed on Monday.

Spot silver prices down by 0.3% to $24.0799 per ounce, while platinum prices decreased by 0.3% to $978.63 and palladium prices decreased by 0.1% to $1,409.06.

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