Gold set for biggest weekly fall in 5; firm dollar weighs-
Gold prices fell on Friday and were on track to mark their biggest weekly decline in five weeks due to a firmer dollar, as investor focus shifted towards an expected U.S. interest rate hike next week.
Spot gold XAU= was 0.4 percent lower at $1,237.65 per ounce as of 0747 GMT. Earlier in the session, prices hit their lowest level since Dec. 6 at $1,236.80.
The metal is down about 0.6 percent so far for the week.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 were down 0.3 percent at $1,244.2 per ounce.
There is some downward pressure from a stronger dollar, said Vandana Bharti, assistant vice-president of commodity research, SMC Comtrade Ltd.
“I don’t see much downside on gold going forward… The market is waiting for a strong trigger and currently it’s watching out for the Fed meeting.”
The dollar index .DXY , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up about 0.2 percent. USD/
The U.S. central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates at its Dec. 18-19 meeting, its fourth rate hike this year, though greater focus will centre on the policy outlook for 2019, over which there is more uncertainty.
“Market sentiment towards zero-yielding gold is at risk of souring ahead of the Fed meeting next week where interest rates are expected to be hiked. However, with the Fed potentially taking a pause on rate hikes next year, gold remains somewhat supported,” said Lukman Otunuga, a research analyst at FXTM.
“The near-term outlook for gold hangs on the dollar performance… Bulls remain safe above the $1,240 support level with $1,250.60 acting as a level of interest,” Otunuga added.
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