Gold is nearing its worst quarterly drop in 18 months due to higher interest rates

Gold prices, which rose on Friday as the dollar fell, are close to posting their worst quarterly drop since March last year, as central banks around the world stick to tight monetary policies.

And gold rose in spot transactions on Friday 0.3 percent to $ 1665.99 an ounce by 1029 GMT, consolidating its gains so far this week to 1.4 percent. At the quarterly level, the precious metal’s decline amounted to 7.8 percent, which is the worst since the first quarter of 2021.

US gold futures rose 0.4 percent to $1,674.50.

The dollar index approached its lowest level in a week, making gold less expensive for buyers of other currencies.

The monetary policy makers of the Federal Reserve (Fed) insist on raising interest rates despite the crisis in global financial markets.

As for other precious metals, silver rose in spot transactions by 1.1 percent to $19.0167 an ounce. Platinum saw little change and settled at $865.11 an ounce. The two metals are heading to decline for the second consecutive quarter.

Palladium, which was stable at $2201.47 an ounce, is up 14 percent so far this quarter.