London — Gold fell for a third consecutive session on Wednesday on pressure from a firmer dollar amid speculation that the next US Fed chair may be a policy hawk. Spot gold was down 0.4% at $1,280.13/oz at 10.34am GMT, earlier touching its lowest since October 9 at $1,279. US gold futures for December delivery were off 0.3% at $1,282/oz. "Interest rate hikes had not been fully priced in for next year. That has changed massively following speculation that [Fed governor Jerome] Powell might become the next chairman," said Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank. US President Donald Trump has a pool of five candidates to choose from for the next chair of the Fed and is likely to announce his choice before going to Asia in early November, a source familiar with the situation said. Powell is likely to be the next Federal Reserve chairman, according to a slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll — but most of them said Yellen would be the best option. The dollar edged higher on the...
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