Gold fell on Friday and was headed for a fourth consecutive weekly decline pressured by overall strength in the dollar on prospects of aggressive interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Spot gold fell 0.2% to $1,817.39 U.S. per ounce early in the morning, after hitting $1,810.86, its lowest since Feb. 7. Bullion has lost over 3% so far this week.
U.S. gold futures dropped 0.5% to $1,816.40 per ounce.
Last week, the Fed increased its benchmark overnight interest rate by an aggressive half-a-percentage point.
Rising U.S. interest rates and bond yields raise the opportunity cost of holding bullion.
Gold’s recent slide has wiped out most gains made in an initial rally driven by safe-haven demand amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which had pushed prices to near-record levels in mid-March.
Spot silver rose 0.6% to $20.78 U.S. per ounce, but has fallen about 7% this week, the most since late January.
Platinum rose 0.7% to $950.06 U.S. and palladium gained 1.5% to $1,936.55 U.S. though both were on track for weekly losses.
