Gold fell on Tuesday, as rising crude oil prices heightened inflation worries and reinforced U.S. rate-hike expectations ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting.
FUNDAMENTALS
Spot gold was down 0.3% at $4,285.91 per ounce, as of 0015 GMT, after hitting its lowest in more than a month in the previous session. U.S. gold futures for December delivery were down 0.6% at $4,326.90.
The U.S. central bank will announce its policy decision at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) on Wednesday following the end of a two-day meeting.
Financial markets are betting heavily that Fed policymakers will lift their benchmark rate a quarter of a percentage point to a 3.75%-4.00% range and signal further tightening ahead.
Data on Friday showed U.S. consumer prices accelerated in August, while a key measure of underlying inflation posted its largest increase in four months.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launched a new attack on Saudi Arabia on Monday and Gulf Arab states postponed planned talks with Iran, raising concerns the Middle East conflict could spread further and threaten global oil supplies.
Oil prices extended gains. Higher energy costs can fuel inflationary pressures across the economy.
Though seen as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical risks, gold often loses appeal when rates increase as they raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hit the key psychological level of 5% on Monday for the first time since October 2023. The milestone is a threshold that analysts say could ripple through the U.S. economy and threaten the bull market in stocks by denting the relative appeal of U.S. equities.
Spot silver fell 0.4% to $62.99, platinum lost 0.4% at $1,752.85 and palladium ticked 1% lower to $1,279.75.
