Gold prices fell on Wednesday, nearing their recent two-week lows as a stronger dollar and rising Treasury yields weighed on demand for the precious metal.
Gold futures for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange were down $7.30 or 0.54% to $1,325.90 a troy ounce by 04:41 AM ET (08:41 AM GMT), within easy reach of the two-week low of $1,323.80 set on Monday.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.3% to a seven week high of 90.82.
The dollar was boosted by rising U.S. yields and the prospect of a faster pace of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve this year.
Expectations of higher interest rates make the dollar more attractive to investors seeking yield. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes rose above 3% for the first time since 2014 on Tuesday, a sign of confidence in the outlook for the U.S. economy.
Upbeat data on U.S. new home sales and consumer confidence on Tuesday underlined expectations that the economy will continue to grow in the coming months.
A stronger U.S. currency has made dollar denominated gold more expensive for overseas buyers recently, while rising Treasury yields have stoked investors’ worries about higher interest rates, which tend to make gold, which does not pay interest, less attractive relative to Treasury’s.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures were down 0.8% to $16.57 a troy ounce, while platinum futures were down 0.97% to trade at $925.90.
Among base metals, copper futures slid 0.35% to $3.130 a pound.
