Gold Retreats On Stronger USD

Gold prices fell on Friday, July 15, and remained on track for the fifth consecutive weekly decline, as the continued rise in the dollar and fears of a sharp rise in US interest rates affected the demand for bullion.

And the price of gold in spot transactions fell 0.3% to $ 1704.59 an ounce, to lose 2.1% since the beginning of the week.

US gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,701.70.

The dollar is hovering around its highest level in 20 years, to continue to reduce the demand for gold denominated in the US currency among foreign investors, after the precious metal fell more than 2% yesterday, Thursday.

Two of the Fed’s more hawkish policymakers said Thursday that they favor another 75 basis point interest rate increase at this month’s monetary policy meeting.

Higher interest rates and bond yields increase the opportunity cost of holding gold, which does not yield fixed returns.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields fell on Friday, July 15, boosting the price of gold slightly.

Among other precious metals, silver fell 1.1% to $18.18 per ounce, to lose about 6% this week, heading to 7 consecutive weekly losses.

Platinum fell 0.4% to $840.53 an ounce, and platinum fell about 6.4% this week, the largest drop in 3 months.

Palladium rose 0.4% to $1,904.27, but fell by 13% this week, the biggest decline since last November.