Gold futures remained under pressure to start the week, drifting below the $1,800 an ounce threshold on Monday.
Gold for June delivery GC00, -0.13% GCM22, -0.13% fell $9.50, or 0.5%, to $1,798.70 an ounce on Comex, after dipping below $1,800 in Friday’s session when it closed at its lowest since Feb. 4. Gold logged a 3.9% fall last week, its largest since June 18, 2021, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
July silver SIN22, +1.30% ticked up 0.4% to $21.095 an ounce after falling 6.2% last week, its largest such slump since late January.
Gold “has been a victim of a strong U.S. dollar and rising bond yields, making this non-interest-bearing commodity less appealing for yield seekers. Its performance has surprised many market participants, us included,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and Forex.com, in a note.
Gold came off its session low Monday as the U.S. dollar came off early highs. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.18% edged own 0.1% after trading near a 20-year high on Friday. A stronger dollar can be a negative for commodities priced in the unit, making them more expensive to users of other currencies.
Rising bond yields have also been a drag on gold. Treasury yields early last week traded near 3 1/2-year highs before pulling back.
Gold’s weakness, however, has still been a surprise given persistently hot inflation readings, as well as the volatility seen in equity and crypto markets, which would have been expected to spur some haven-related demand for gold, Razaqzada said.
“Those seeking to protect their wealth being eroded by inflation must be equally surprised to see the metal trade around $1,800,” he wrote.
“While fundamentally I continue to remain positive towards gold, I just need to see a technical reversal pattern to confirm that prices have bottomed out. One such scenario would be if gold reclaims the broken trend line and goes back above $1850 resistance,” he said. “But first thing is first: it will need to defend support around $1800.”
In other metals trade, July copper HGN22, +0.29% edged up 0.2% to $4.182 a pound.
July platinum PLN22, -1.15% fell 1.4% to $917.40 an ounce, while June palladium PAM22, -0.25% was off 0.7% at $1,904 an ounce.