Gold futures fell the most in six weeks on speculation that the Federal Reserve will taper U.S. monetary stimulus as the economy gains, curbing demand for the precious metal as a store of value.
Today, the Fed will announce the third $10 billion cut in bond purchases, according to a Bloomberg survey. Factory output rose in February by the most in six months and housing starts were little changed, data showed this week. Gold climbed to a six-month high on March 17 as tensions escalated between Russia and Ukraine.
“The focus is on the Fed today, and good economic numbers are not helping the market either,” George Gero, a vice president and precious-metal strategist in New York at RBC Capital Markets, said in a telephone interview. “Lack of news from Crimea has lessened haven needs.”
Gold futures for April delivery fell 1.4 percent to $1,340.20 at 10:41 a.m. on the Comex in New York. A close at that price would mark the biggest decline for a most-active contract since Jan. 30. The metal headed for the third straight drop, the longest slump in 10 weeks.
Trading was 17 percent above the average for the past 100 days for this time, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
via Bloomberg
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.
Alfonso Esparza
trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Latest posts by Alfonso Esparza (see all)
- Market Rally Still Going Low Holiday Volumes Awaiting Start of 2020 - 27 December 2019
- Market Awaits China Retaliation on Trade - 29 November 2019
- Alibaba to Close Order Book Ahead of Huge IPO - 18 November 2019