Gold futures settled lower on Thursday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stressed the central bank’s commitment to bring down inflation, implying that more interest-rate hikes are on tap.
The move also follows the European Central Bank’s decision to lift interest rates by 75 basis points as it also attempts to tame record inflation.
Price action
-
Gold
GCZ22,
+0.43% for December delivery fell by $7.60, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,720.20 per ounce on Comex. -
Silver
SIZ22,
+1.86% for December delivery advanced 18 cents, or 1%, to $18.442 per ounce. -
December palladium
PAZ22,
+1.26% climbed $124.20, or 6.1%, to $2,147 an ounce, up a second straight session after posting losses in each of the past three weeks. Platinum futures PLV22,+0.76% for October delivery climbed $19.20, or 2.3%, to $866.40 per ounce. -
December copper prices
HGZ22,
+0.75% climbed 10 cents, or 2.8%, to $3.527 per pound.
What analysts are saying
Gold prices traded lower after Powell’s remarks, said Jeff Wright, chief investment officer at Wolfpack Capital, told 江湖电竞最新版比赛(江湖电竞投注app网站), but “I heard nothing distinct or meaningfully different” in the remarks, from his speech at the Jackson Hole economic symposium last month.
During a moderated discussion at a Cato Institute monetary conference, Powell on Thursday said the Fed won’t be distracted by political criticism as it moves interest rates higher to try to bring inflation down. He said the Fed accepts its responsibility for price stability, which is 2% inflation over time. “I can assure you that my colleagues and I are strongly committed to this project and we will keep at it until the job is done,” Powell said.
The move for gold prices also comes after the ECB delivered an interes t rate hike Thursday. It also said in statement that more hikes were likely to come in response to inflation that remains “far too high” and “likely to stay above target for an extended period.”
The U.S. dollar strengthened a bit against the euro
EURUSD,
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
The dollar is likely to continue to strengthen vs euro and U.K. pound in particular, in the coming days, said Wright, and “gold could dip below $1,700 easily.”
“I do not see much support or rather a compelling thesis to step in to buy or support gold right now,” he said.
Meanwhile, data Thursday showed U.S. initial jobless claims fell last week to a three-and-a-half-month low of 222,000.
That underscored “a robust jobs market even as the Fed launches monetary bazookas,” said Lukman Otunuga, manager, market analysis, at FXTM. “This is likely to fuel speculation around more aggressive rate hikes — ultimately punishing zero-yielding gold.”
