Gold price falls as dollar stabilizes and attention turns to Fed hikes

Gold prices fell on Thursday as the dollar stabilized as investors assessed economic signals from the United States to gauge the pace of future interest rate hikes.

At 0931 GMT, spot gold was down 0.4% at $1,766 an ounce, and US gold futures were down 0.4% at $1,768.50.

“Gold appears to have run out of steam as the recent dollar slide began to find some footing”said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, adding that the gold metal could pull back towards $1,730 before its next leg higher.

However, bullion could rise through the end of the year if the dollar remains generally weak and US Treasury yields continue to fall, he added.

The dollar index gained 0.1%, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies, while the yield on benchmark 10-year notes traded below the 4% threshold.

Data showing US retail sales rose more than expected in October, dampening gold’s advance, renewed expectations that improving economic data could prompt the Federal Reserve to further hike rates.

In other precious metals, spot silver was down 1.8% at $21.08 an ounce; platinum was down 0.5% at $1,001; and palladium subtracted 1.43%, to US$ 2,042.13.

With information from Reuters