Gold at 3-week low as Fed officials reiterate hawkishness

GOLD traded at the lowest level in more than 3 weeks as Federal Reserve officials reiterated their commitment to tighter monetary settings to curb inflation.

Bullion capped its first weekly decline in 5 as traders weighed hawkish comments by policymakers which portended higher interest rates. Fed Bank of Richmond president Thomas Barkin said on Aug 19 the central bank was resolved to returning inflation to its 2 per cent target, even if that meant risking a US recession.

All eyes will be on chair Jerome Powell when he speaks on Aug 26 at the annual gathering of central bankers at Jackson Hole. He’s expected to re-state the Fed’s resolve to keep raising rates to get inflation under control, though he’ll probably stop short of signalling how big officials will go when they meet next month.

Higher rates weigh on non-interest bearing bullion. Investor demand has faltered, with holdings in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) dropping for a 10th straight week, according to initial data compiled by Bloomberg. 

“Gold may remain under pressure as we see a shift from riskier assets to the safety of the US dollar,” said Ravindra Rao, head of commodity research at Kotak Securities. ETFs showed modest buying interest on Friday but the market would need more evidence that investors were re-entering, he said.

Spot gold fell as much as 0.2 per cent to US$1,742.96 an ounce, the lowest level since Jul 28, and was trading at US$1,744.40 at 6.36 am in London. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1 per cent after climbing 2.1 per cent last week. Silver was steady, platinum fell and palladium climbed 0.6 per cent. BLOOMBERG