Gold prices declined on Tuesday as U.S. traders returned from a three-day weekend after the yellow metal finished in the red for the third straight week amid expectations for more interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
Price action
- Gold for April delivery GC00, -0.33% GCJ23, -0.33% fell $9.70, or 0.5%, to $1,840 per pound on Comex.
- March silver SI00, +0.25% SIH23, +0.25% gained 3 cents, or 0.1%, to $21.75 per ounce.
- Palladium for March delivery PAH23, +0.44% rose $11.50, or 0.8%, to $1,504 per ounce, while April platinum PLJ23, +0.64% gained $10.20, or 1.1%, to $931 per ounce.
- March copper HGH23, +2.08% fell by 8 cents, or 1.9%, to $4.19 per pound.
Market drivers
U.S. markets were closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday. Shifting expectations about the Fed’s plans have caused gold to erase virtually all of the yellow metal’s year-to-date gains in recent weeks as the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields have moved higher.
While the yellow metal bounced late last week, those gains weren’t enough to prevent a third-straight weekly drop for the most-active gold futures contract.
“While bulls may be encouraged by Friday’s rebound, others may take a little more convincing,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.
A stronger dollar also weighed on gold by making the yellow metal more expensive for buyers in other currencies.
ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.14%, a measure of the buck’s strength against a basket of rivals, rose 0.2% to 104.04.
