Gold hits three-week low, as dollar rises on prospect of US rate hike
Bengaluru — Gold dropped to its lowest level in more than three weeks on Thursday as a stronger dollar and increasing prospects of a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve curbed appetite for the metal. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,299.31 an ounce at 3.26am GMT, after earlier touching its lowest since late August at $1295.65. US gold futures for December delivery fell 1% to $1,302.60 an ounce. The dollar rose and bond yields jumped to their highest levels in six weeks after the Federal Reserve announced a plan to start shrinking its balance sheet in October and signalled one more rate hike later this year. The dollar on Thursday extended gains and inched up against a basket of currencies. It rose 0.2% versus the yen. "The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) was surprisingly upbeat and (held) the line on rate hikes in 2017 and 2018 which has caught traders by surprise," said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at Oanda. The Fed’s announcement on another interest rate hike th...
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