Gold prices declined on Tuesday, poised to finish at their lowest in more than two years, as investors wait for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates and deliver updated economic projections on Wednesday.
Price action
- Gold futures GCZ22, -0.29% for December delivery were off $4.50, or 0.3%, to $1,673.70 per ounce on Comex. Prices for the most-active contract look to settle below Thursday’s $1,677.30 finish, which was the lowest since April 2020, FactSet data show.
- December silver SIZ22, -0.79% retreated 18.3 cents, or 1%, to $19.175 per ounce.
- December palladium PAZ22, -3.41% was down $91.20, or 4.1%, to $2,129.50 per ounce, while October platinum PLV22, +0.75% added $1.90, or 0.2%, to $920.40 per ounce.
- December copper futures HGZ22, -0.10% were off 1.3 cents, or 0.4%, to $3.4995 per pound.
What analysts are saying
“It has been a rough month for the precious metal due to a stronger dollar and rising Treasury yields,” said Lukman Otunuga, manager, market analysis at FXTM. “After tumbling below the $1,700 psychological level last week, it feels like bears have won the battle in September.”
However, “the war still rages on with various fundamental forces influencing gold prices,” he wrote in a market update.
For now, “gold remains trapped within a short-term range, below key resistance,” said Otunuga. “Sustained weakness below $1,680 could open the doors toward levels below $1,659,” which is a level not seen since early April 2020.
Much of the attention in the U.S. has been focused on the Federal Reserve as investors await Wednesday’s decision on rates. The market widely expects the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage points amid efforts to cool inflation.
Read: Fed to put a ‘firm foot on the brake pedal’ this week
Still, a team of precious-metals analysts at Commerzbank this week blamed increasingly hawkish rhetoric out of the European Central Bank for adding to gold’s woes.
They also noted that the rest of the precious-metals complex has managed to avoid the latest bout of weakness that has weighed on gold, largely because speculators have been placing fewer bearish bets.