Gold extends losses on dollar strength, traders watchful of Fed policy

Gold extended losses after posting its biggest drop in a month in the previous session, as a stronger dollar dented bullion's appeal

Gold extended losses on Tuesday after posting its biggest drop in a month in the previous session, as a stronger dollar dented bullion's appeal, while investors watched for signs of further policy tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Spot gold fell 0.2% to $1,775.30 per ounce by 0909 GMT, after falling more than 1% on Monday. U.S. gold futures dropped 0.4% to $1,790.20.

The dollar, also considered a safe store of value along with bullion, benefited from a disappointing set of economic data out of China and a surprise rate cut by the country's central bank.

A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for overseas buyers.

"Amidst this uncertainty, investors are finding comfort in the safety of the dollar, in a dynamic that penalises gold due to the inverted price correlation between the two," said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades.

If the FOMC minutes on Wednesday provide signs of further hawkishness, it could further enhance the appeal of the dollar, in a scenario that would be penalising for gold, he added.

Fed officials have maintained a hawkish tone and hinted at more rate hikes this year to tame high inflation. Rising U.S. interest rates tend to weigh on bullion, which yields no interest.

Investors have also pulled out of gold exchange-traded funds and that could be weighing on gold too, Bank of China International analyst Xiao Fu said.

Any guidance from the minutes of Fed's latest policy meeting on future rate hikes could be key for gold as that remains a big headwind for bullion, she said, adding, gold could be seen consolidating in the current range for the next couple of weeks.

Elsewhere, spot silver dropped 0.8% to $20.10 per ounce, platinum fell 0.7% to $926.32 and palladium slipped 0.7% to $2,130.67.

 

(Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)