© Archyde.com. Gold falls below 1,740 ahead of the release of the Fed’s meeting minutes
Arabictrader.com – moved Up and down in a narrow range during trading on Wednesday, amid investors’ anticipation of the release of a number of economic data today, in addition to the minutes of the US Federal Reserve meeting, and the spot fell below $ 1,740.
Gold prices now
In terms of trading, spot gold prices declined marginally by 0.12% to reach $1,738.16 an ounce, and bullion futures contracts for February delivery also decreased by 0.13%, to record $1,752.60 an ounce.
At the same time, in addition to gold, the prices of futures contracts for February delivery rose by 0.43% to $21.32 an ounce, and prices increased by about 0.42% to $999.43 an ounce, and prices rose by 1.23% to $1,887.30 an ounce.
The most important factors affecting gold prices
Gold benefited today from the decline in the dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of 6 other major currencies, as the index fell sharply early in the session, to record 106.86 points, clearing the way for gold to stop its losses, but then cut its losses, and pay Gold is marginally declining.
This decline in the US currency was driven by investors’ anticipation of the release of the minutes of the US Federal Reserve meeting later in the day, which pushed investors towards gold as a safe haven.
The markets are awaiting the issuance of the minutes, to get some indications about the size of the next US Federal Reserve move, amid conflicting views of the Bank’s members in their statements, as some see the need to start slowing the pace of monetary tightening, while others, such as Bullard, believe that it should continue to raise interest at a stronger pace. .
The markets are also awaiting the release of purchasing managers’ indices in Europe and the United States, which reflect the volume of economic activity during the month of November, amid expectations of a possible recession in the region, Britain and the United States.
And Esther, a member of the US Federal Reserve, said yesterday evening that the US Federal Reserve still has more interest rate hikes ahead of it during its upcoming meetings.
Although gold is a safe haven for the currency to hedge against economic fluctuations and inflation, the high US interest rates reduce the attractiveness of dollar-priced gold, as it increases the opportunity cost of owning bullion.