On June 15, gold prices fell towards a three-week low. The slide occurred after the Federal Reserve increased its interest rate by 0.25% to a 1.00% to 1.25% range on June 14 and kept their plans to have an another increase in rates by the end of 2017.
Gold futures on COMEX, one of the CME Group’s four exchanges, were at $1,263.76 a troy ounce by 3:15 eastern time. This means that they were down $12.15, or roughly 1%. At the same time, spot gold sat at $1,261.76.
In the preceding trading session, gold prices reached their lowest since May 26 at $1,259.00.
As a result of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, the Fed increases interest rates for the second time in 2017. The Federal Reserve hiked up prices to a range of 1.0% to 1.25%.
The United States bank maintained its plans to have three rate increases in 2017. This is because the Fed predicts that the labor market will increase inflation to the 2% target over the medium term. Additionally, the Fed disclosed details of how it plans to decrease its $4.5 trillion balance sheet.
Most investors know that gold is sensitive to changes in U.S. interest rates, which will aid the opportunity cost of having non-yielding assets like bullion while raising the dollar in which it has been priced.
At the time, the U.S. dollar index was up 0.2% at 97.00, which allowed it to move away from the preceding trading sessions seven-month low of 96.31.
On the other side of the equation, key investors continue to keep a close eye on the potential political turmoil in the United States following the announcement that President Donald Trump was being investigated for possible obstruction of justice.
Along with gold, platinum plummeted 1.9% to $933.70, silver futures fell 29.8 cents (1.7%) to $16.83 a troy ounce, and palladium dropped 0.4% to $849.95 an ounce.
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