Gold futures on Thursday, March 2, were on track to mark a third straight session decline as increasing expectations for a rate increase, as early as mid-March, and continued optimism about global economic growth dulled the appeal of precious metals.
Gold for April delivery GCJ7, -1.01% fell $8.20, or 0.7%, to $1,241.80 an ounce, setting prices up to finish at their lowest level in just over a week, Marketwatch reports.
Gold could find some short-term traction as highflying stocks look to pause their run. U.S. stocks traded mostly lower following the prior day’s surge.
Rounding out action in the metals, silver for May delivery SIK7, -2.35% shed 11 cents, or 0.6%, at $18.38 an ounce and May copper HGK7, -1.66% lost 3.6 cents, or 1.3%, to $2.70 a pound.
April platinum PLJ7, -2.38% fell $16.10, or 1.6%, to $1,002.80 an ounce, while June palladium PAM7, -0.82% traded at $776.40 an ounce, down $2.60, or 0.3%. Metals-focused exchange-traded funds also fell.
The SPDR Gold Trust GLD, -1.24% was off 0.7%, the miners-focused VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF GDX, -3.79% was down 2.3%, while the iShares Silver Trust SLV, -2.98% was trading 0.4% lower.
Higher rates can diminish demand for assets like gold which don’t offer a yield. But rate increases can also deliver a fillip to the U.S. dollar, making commodities priced in the currency less appealing to buyers using other monetary units.
On Thursday, the dollar, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.37% was trading 0.2% higher at 102 after touching its highest level in about two months.
